Adding Positive Credit to Improve Your Score

Credit scores can change throughout the course of one’s life. Just because you have a low credit score now, doesn’t mean it has to stay that way. In fact, there are lots of ways you could add positive credit and possibly improve your standing. From checking your credit report to making micropayments, we’ve compiled four easy ways to potentially bolster your credit score below.

1. Get a Free Copy of Your Credit Report

Many companies can provide a free copy of your credit report. In our last blog, “How to Dispute a Credit Report“, we detailed how to get a copy and dispute any errors. Be sure to check out that link. Then, after you get a copy of the report, go through and check for any errors that might negatively impact your credit. Understanding your credit report is absolutely crucial towards figuring out your financial landscape and planning your way forward.

2. Catch Up!

Once you’ve taken the first steps toward improving your credit, be sure to account for any unpaid bills. If you’re behind, catch up as soon as you can. A late payment can remain on your credit report for up to seven years, which is why it’s so important to stop late payments from being recorded. Plus, staying on top of your bills could prevent you from paying any further late fees. This could save you a lot of extra money, keep your accounts up-to-date and potentially nurture your credit score into better standing.

Need a little help catching up? If you already have a loan with Heights Finance, you could be eligible for more money and more time to pay. Talking with one of our team members could help you free up some much needed cash. For more information, check out our refinancing options or call your friendly local branch.^*

3. Make Micropayments

Now that you’ve started addressing your late payments, another way you could improve your credit is by making micropayments on current and future bills. Micropayments are small payments made on credit cards throughout the month. This tactic helps by decreasing both your debt and the amount of credit you use. Why is this important? Because the less credit you use, the higher your score. In fact, many financial experts recommend using 30% or less of your available credit.

Oftentimes, your credit usage will seem higher throughout the month if you wait to pay until the statement is due. Making micropayments could decrease the amount of credit you’re using and may help increase your credit score.

4. Don’t Miss Future Payments

The biggest way to possibly add positive credit and potentially improve your score is by making all future payments ON TIME. Payments that are 30 days or more late will be reported to credit bureaus and have the potential to severely hurt your credit score. This is why it’s absolutely crucial to have some kind of system in place when it comes to making payments.

A great way to avoid missed payments is to set up automatic bill pay. Oftentimes this is available for bills, loans and credit cards. With credit cards, you can set up automatic payments to pay different amounts. We recommend setting up micropayments at the beginning of the month or just paying the current balance to avoid late fees.

If you do miss a payment, call the creditor immediately. Make arrangements to pay and ask if they’ll consider not reporting the missed payment to credit bureaus. It may not always work, but it never hurts to ask.

Make it Easy on Yourself With Heights

Above are four easy things anyone can do to help improve their credit score. However, if you still don’t have enough money to make your current payments, you might want to consider debt consolidation.

Heights Finance offers a debt consolidation program where you can take out a larger loan to pay your outstanding debts. Instead of making multiple monthly payments, debt consolidation makes it so that you’ll only have to make a single monthly payment to Heights. With less monthly payments, you’ll have a much better chance of keeping track of your debts.^*

We’re Here to Go the Extra Mile

We know you’re working hard to make on-time payments and increase your credit, so we want to help too. That’s why we’re introducing the Heights Finance Extra Mile Program. Every month you’ll receive an email reminding you to make a payment on your loan. When you make an on-time payment, we’ll send positive reports to the credit bureaus, which may help improve your score. This could yield more access to credit, higher loan limits and even lower interest rates.

At Heights Finance, we know that you’re more than just a credit score. However, we also know that credit scores can make your life a lot easier. That’s why we’re here to support you, no matter what your financial situation. So, if you ever need a little extra cash to get ahead of your monthly bills, give us a call. Our friendly team members are always dedicated to going the extra mile for you.

^* All loans subject to additional terms, limitations and conditions.