Review your credit reports.

The first step to improving your credit is knowing what you're working with - that's where checking your credit history & score comes into play. You can request a free copy of your credit reports once every 12 months form the 3 major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Simply visit www.AnnualCreditReport.com to request your reports. 

Get a handle on bill payments.

There are several factors that impact your credit score, and payment history is at the top. A simple way to improve your credit is to avoid late payments at all costs. Setting up automatic bill payments is a great way to avoid late or forgotten payments. 

Keep your credit utilization low.

Another big factor to your credit score is credit usage, which refers to the portion of your credit limit that you’re using at any given time. The simplest way to keep your credit utilization below the recommended 30% mark is to pay your credit card balances in full each month.

Limit “hard” credit inquiries.

These include applications for new credit cards, mortgages, auto loans, and other forms of new credit. A couple hard inquiries here and there likely won’t affect your credit significantly, but multiple inquiries in a short amount of time can raise red flags with lenders.

Keep old accounts open.

Older credit accounts are more favorable to lenders, so if you have old accounts that you're not actively using, don't close them. Rather, keep them open to increase the overall age of your credit history.

Continue monitoring.

Once you’ve taken the above steps to improve your credit, continue monitoring your credit to track your progress.

Consider consolidation.

If you have a number of outstanding debts, it may benefit you to consider consolidating your debts into one loan for one easy payment and possibly a lower rate. 

Benefits of consolidating your debts:

• Simplifying to a single payment
• Taking advantage of a fixed rate
• Saving money on interest
• Potentially paying off your debt faster