Do you have bad credit?  If you do, then you’re not alone.  Indeed, having bad credit is not a good thing and no doubt, you want to get yourself out of it as soon as possible.  The good news is, there are positive steps that you can do to improve your credit. Consider these quick fixes:

Know where you stand.  Have you checked your personal credit report? If you have not yet requested your free credit report for this year, you can go to www.annualcreditreport.com to order.  You can order all your three reports from the three major credit bureaus at once so you can be sure that all versions of your report contain accurate information.

Checking your report will make you aware of your exact situation.  Perhaps your credit is not as bad as you think, or maybe it might need more serious work.  With a copy of your credit report on hand, you can evaluate each of your accounts and plan your strategy based on that.

Are there errors or unauthorized charges in your report?  If so, you should send a dispute letter to the credit bureau that issued your report right away.  Fixing an error can instantly boost your credit score.

Pay your credit cards in full and on time.  Contrary to what others think, you don’t need to carry a balance to boost your credit score.  You also don’t need to use your credit card for expensive purchases to achieve a high score.

What’s most important is how you pay off your credit card balance.  It’s best to pay off your full balance each month so you don’t incur interest rate fees.  Use your credit card for a small purchase so that repayment need not be a burden.

Avoid hard inquiries.  If you need to acquire a new credit card or a loan, do not submit multiple applications to different lenders at once.  Doing so will only damage your credit score even more.  What you want to do is spend time comparing your options and once you have the right lender, that’s the time you can submit an application.  Don’t forget to check the lender’s credit requirement to avoid unnecessary rejections as this will also pull down your score.

Keep credit usage minimal.  You want to use your credit regularly but you should keep it as minimal as possible.  In fact, you should not use more than 30% of your available credit if you want to see an improvement in your rating.

Apply for a small loan.  Aside from revolving credit, adding other types of debt to your name is a great way to improve your credit score.  An installment loan whether a personal loan, student loan or a car loan gives you the chance to prove your creditworthiness through timely submission of your monthly payments.

Acquire a small loan with just the right period of repayment.  Choose a lender that offers a reasonable deal.  Furthermore, make sure that the loan provider reports to the three major credit bureaus.  As you submit your monthly loan payments, you will strengthen your credit history and add points to your score.

Allison May

Allison May is a credit consultant and a writer for Credit Creators. The resource provides consumers with valuable advice and information on Guaranteed Approval credit cards, Unsecured credit cards for Bad Credit and other credit-related issues. The main objective here is to help people build good credit.