If your credit score isn’t as high as you would like, don’t stress. Just a few months of good behavior can make a considerable impact on raising your score. The sooner you take action, the better. Read on for a few easy strategies to boost your score.

Timely payments   

Paying bills on time is the most important factor influencing your credit score. A few missed payments will not only negatively impact your score but also stick to your report for years. Set up automatic payments to avoid falling behind.

Pull Your Full Report

Look at your full credit report to check for anything outstanding you might have forgotten, and also to make sure everything is accurate. If anything looks unfamiliar, do some investigating to verify your identity hasn’t been subject to errors, identity theft or fraud. Get your report from the federally authorized site, annualcreditreport.com.

Talk to a Financial Expert

Schedule a one-on-one consultation with your preferred personal banker or an agent at a nonprofit credit account agency. Look at your credit report together and strategize on how to improve your score and work toward your financial goals. Most likely they will reassure you that your situation isn’t nearly as bad as you think.

Call Your Credit Agency

The credit industry is competitive, so you might be surprised by how helpful your credit card company is actually willing to be. Especially if you have a solid history but have fallen behind in the last few months, many creditors offer programs to help you get back on track and avoid negative impacts to your credit score.

Maintain Utilization at 20-25%

If you’re carrying a high balance on any of your cards, then making the minimum payment won’t be enough to improve your score. Keeping your utilization under 25% is a great way to maintain a healthy credit score.

Ask for a Higher Line of Credit

If you’re constantly maxing out cards or almost reaching your limit, ask your creditor for a higher line of credit. This will help keep your utilization rate down without impacting how you use your card.

Don’t Close Unused Cards

Think twice before closing old or unused credit card accounts. Remember that being a customer of the same credit issuer for a long time is a positive factor. Also, not using available credit will help keep your utilization rate low. If you need to close cards due to service fees, close one and ideally wait six months before closing the next.

Become an Authorized User
Ask a trusted family member or friend to name you as an “authorized user” on their credit card. If they have a good financial history and activity, this can help boost your score as well– even if they don’t let you have a physical copy of the card.

Credit Builder Loan

With a credit builder loan, you borrow a specific amount of money, which is held in a savings account that you cannot access. Once you pay off the loan, the funds are released to you.

Rapid Rescore

If you’re applying for a loan and can’t wait a month for your report to update automatically reflect recently paid accounts, ask your broker for a rapid rescore. The service usually costs between $25-$100.