Simple tips for a Higher Credit Score

April 19th, 2011

Posted by Joe in: Improving Your Credit Score

Want to increase your credit score over the long term, without doing a whole lot?

Here's some basic tips that will definitely raise your score!

• Pay more than the minimum balance (at least 10% more) each month
• Pay your bill at least 5 days before it is due!
• Don't open any new credit cards if you don't need to
• Try not to carry a balance greater than 25% of your limit on any card
• Especially don't use more than 30% of your total credit available between ALL your cards
• Never, ever close a credit card! This will hurt the length of your credit history

Establishing a Line of Credit

April 14th, 2011

Posted by Joe in: How to Get Credit

Looking to get your first credit card? Want to get started on the right track?

The easiest thing to do (especially for students) is to go to a department store and open one of their store credit cards. A Macys card is a good choice because it will contribute to your credit score, offers great discounts at the store, and will quickly turn into a Macys Visa card - meaning its not always going to be a Macys-only store card. You're just about guaranteed for most of these types of store cards, just be forewarned that there be a small limit at first (probably $500).

Once you've established your first line of credit, don't try opening any other cards or take out any loans for at least one year. You'll need to build up a solid credit report and start your credit history. Credit history is the length of time you've had credit, and the longer, the better. Once a year goes by, you can take out a loan or open a new card, but don't go crazy; try no more than one loan or card per year to keep your score high.