Your Credit

There are no quick fixes to improve your credit score, but you can raise your score over time by consistently managing your finances responsibly. Here are seven tips that can help you to improve your credit score:

This is the best way to improve your score, and it’s never too late to start. Even if you’ve had serious delinquencies in the past, those will count less over time if you keep paying your bills on time.

High outstanding debt can pull down your score. Don’t go maxing out your credit cards all the time.

It’s possible that there may be inaccurate information on your credit report that can be easily cleared up If this proves to be the case, then you should contact one of the three credit reporting agencies — TransUnion, Experian or Equifax.

Consolidating your credit card debt onto one card or spreading it over multiple cards will not improve your score in the long run. The most effective way to improve your score is by simply paying down the amount you owe.

In general, having credit cards and installment loans that you pay on time will raise your score. Someone who has no credit cards tends to have a lower score than someone who has managed credit cards responsibly.

Opening too many accounts in too short of a time period can look risky because you are taking on a lot of possible debt. New accounts will also lower the average age of your existing accounts, something that your FICO score also considers.

It’s a myth that closing an account removes it from your credit report. This is untrue — even closed accounts remain on your report, possibly for an indefinite period of time and may still be factored into the score. In fact, closing accounts can sometimes hurt your score unless you also pay down your debt at the same time.