When a buyer enters our showroom at Avondale Nissan — after their eyes have lit up at the sight of a new Nissan, but before they veer said Nissan off of the lot and into the sunset — we often have to tackle the tricky little question of credit. There are countless areas where your credit will become important, whether you’re seeking out a mortgage, applying for a job, or trying to buy a car. But with many among us facing not-ideal credit scores, how do you make your credit score better?
Tips for Improving Your Credit Score
Know What’s On Your Credit Report
Checking your credit report can be a scary experience, because there might be stuff on there that you don’t even know about. However, that’s no reason to ignore it. There may be errors, or there could even be fraudulent information that doesn’t apply to you whatsoever. The only way to know, of course, is to check it.
Try to Catch Up on Your Payments
Say you’ve fallen behind on your car loan or your mortgage payments. What should you do? Panic and avoid the phone? Wait for the repo man? Of course not. Even if you can’t get all of your payments back in good graces all at the same time, it’s still a good idea to call your creditors to set up a schedule to get things back on track. In general, they just want the money that is owed, and they’ll work with you to make that happen.
Read More: Preserving the Value of your Vehicle
Pay Bills on Time Going Forward
There are very few among us that have paid every bill ever on time. It’s hard to do. But it’s a little-known fact that things that aren’t always related to credit — cable bills, rent, etc. — can show up on your report if they’re not paid on time. That’s why it’s important to try to always pay bills on time, or to set up automatic withdrawals if this make things easier.
Get Your Debt on Track
A major portion of your credit score is related to how much debt you have, and to how much credit you have available to use. That’s why it’s important to always be paying on your outstanding debt — credit cards, loans, etc. — to ensure that your available credit is generally increasing. In an ideal world, you’d like to have your total credit utilization at about 30%.
Improve Your Spending and Saving Habits
It’s been said before that credit is more of a behavior than an actual number. This requires that you live within your means, make smart spending decisions, and save money wherever possible. The better habits that you try to foster, the more likely you’ll see improvements to your overall credit score in the future.
It isn’t easy to rebuild your credit, but it’s certainly worth it. We work with buyers of all credit levels at Avondale Nissan as well, so click on the button here to inquire about financing, and check out our affordable pre-owned inventory as well!
