| The best credit repair tip you can follow is to pay off your debt as quickly as you can. Unfortunately for most people, if this were that easy they wouldn't need credit repair in the first place. While that may be the best credit repair tip, it's not the only one that can help.
If you can make your monthly payments on time for at least the minimum amount due, you're doing all right. But if at all possible, try the best credit repair tip: make payments that are larger than the minimum due. Otherwise, the interest charges are probably keeping your balances from falling very quickly.
By paying more than is due, you're not just paying the interest that accumulates each month. This way, you're also cutting into the principal, or the amount of the balance that accumulates interest. By making these larger payments, you can more quickly knock down the amount you owe.
The larger payments also show on your credit report and are a mark in your favor. If you're struggling just to make the minimum payments, this will probably be impossible. If you're making the minimum and paying on time, then when you do get extra money, put it toward the bills. Over time this will help lower the burden.
If you're constantly racking up late fees or over-the-limit fees, then you have to try to prevent that and get your payment schedule under control. If you can do that and get your payments back on track paying at least the minimum, then your credit score will improve. Of course, paying more is best.
If you can't handle your current payments, then follow this credit repair tip: Contact each credit card company and let them know you're having trouble. They will try to work with you to make it more manageable.
Some credit card companies will lower your interest for a while so you can make a bigger dent in your balance. Some will even waive late and over-the-limit fees if you make a smaller payment on time for a certain period of time.
And sometimes in extreme situations, you can even negotiate to pay less than you owe. You should seriously consider the effect on your credit before you do this. If you're allowed to pay 75%, 60% or less of what you owe, this charge-off will show on your credit report for at least 7 years.
It will eliminate the constant late and missed payments that hurt your score each month. And while it's a bigger black mark on your credit, it will age and eventually figure less and less in your score.
Here's a credit repair tip that's the best of both situations: if you have enough to pay off a large percentage of a bill, instead of settling for less, just pay all or some of that money toward the bill. It will drastically lower both your balance and your monthly payment.
If you follow that credit repair tip you should be able to improve your credit score. |