5 Tips to Restoring a Bad Credit Score

Good credit can open the door to many things, such as a nice home, a brand new vehicle, and furniture and electronics to furnish your home. It also allows you the opportunity to save money. However, bad credit keeps the door close to owning a home and saving money. Bad credit is a stain on many people’s credit reports that prevents them from obtaining many things.

Many people find themselves in a situation with bad credit due to a number of reasons, a loss of job, poorly paid jobs, lack of education, overspending, divorce, too many credit cards or debtors, health issues, etc. The list is long as to why many people find themselves in credit disarray. But there is a way to get out of the bad debt hole, and it’s by repairing your credit.

Credit repair can be a very long and complicated process that requires discipline and self-motivation. It also involves a basic and dramatic change in your spending habits. Many people can repair their credit by doing a number of things.

The first thing you can do is to obtain a copy of your credit report from the three major credit bureaus - Contact Transunion, Equifax, and Experian. Make sure you get a copy from all three of them. Often one of the bureaus will have information that the other one doesn’t. If you have recently been denied credit for whatever reason, you can obtain a free copy from each bureau. You can also sign up for a free trial with AnnualCreditRepair.com to view your credit report and credit score.

Carefully examine your credit reports for any inaccurate information. If you notice something that is not correct or current, contact the credit bureaus by mail to dispute the charges.

Contact the creditors listed on the report and try to arrange a payment plan. Most of them will work with you on a payment plan in order to pay the debt off. Many will offer a settlement, which will allow you to pay off the debt for an agreed upon amount that is a lot lower than the original debt amount. Make sure you get any settlement down in writing. Keep up your end of the settlement by setting up automatic payments. This will ensure that the exact payments are made to the creditors on-time. Before you agree to a payment plan, make sure you can make the payments.

Contact a free credit counseling credit debt management service to help you manage your bills, pay your creditors, and resolve your credit problems. Many people seek the assistance of companies like Advantage Credit Counseling Service to help them stay focus on repairing their credit and maintaining their improved credit. Advantage Credit Counseling Service offers free counseling for those who need to get out of debt.

Try changing your spending habits. Reevaluate your needs and wants. Look into downsizing to help reduce your budget. Carefully keep track of what you’re spending to see what things can be reduced or even eliminated. Focus on the long-term benefits of establishing and restoring your credit, and approach credit repair as a lifestyle change instead of a temporary fix.