Essay --

Credit Rating Check: Improve Your Credit Score Your credit score is one of your most important financial attributes. Fortunately for those who are unsatisfied with their credit rating, there are plenty of options available. Improving your score is an attainable goal that everyone should aim for, even those who are content with their credit rating. Checking Your Score The first step to improving your credit score is simple, yet essential; request a copy of your credit report. Improvements can only be made when you are aware of your starting point. Luckily, this process is free, easy, and can be done from the comfort of your own home. You can visit www.annualcreditreport.com to complete the necessary forms online, or find information on how to complete the process via phone or mail. Aside from informing you of your score, it is also important to request a credit report to ensure that there are no errors. Clerical mistakes can occur, and you want to make certain that your credit score reflects completely accurate information. It is best to request a credit report as soon as possible, since disputing any issues can be a lengthy process. Paying Bills on Time This may seem like a no-brainer, but one of the most important steps to improving your credit score is to pay all of your bills on time. Even making payments a few days late can have an impact on your score, so try to always pay on (or, even better, before) the due-date. If you find yourself with a missed payment or two, it is very important to get caught up as soon as possible. Although older information will remain on your credit report, it holds less value than current financial activity. The longer you can go without missing a due-date, the less relevance y... ...ge. On top of that, a sudden increase in credit portrays you as a much higher risk than someone who has steadily built up accounts and credit as needed. Improving your credit score can be a difficult and frustrating process that takes plenty of patience. It is important to build strong financial habits that will increase your score over time. When you find yourself dealing with credit from the past, this process becomes even more complicated, but this is when it is most essential to take charge and begin to work on these steps. First and foremost, you must get a credit rating check if you want to improve your score. With that information, you can decide what steps need to be taken; they will be slightly different for everyone. It may be tough to motivate yourself to take charge of your credit score, but you will definitely thank yourself for doing so.