Fast Ways to Raise a Credit Score

Your credit score is what lenders look at to determine whether or not to let you borrow money. If one or more incidents in the past have caused your credit score to dip to unacceptable levels, it is possible to raise the score in a relatively short time. If the score is extremely low, it will take some patience to get the number back to where you want it to be, but following a few financial tips will get you on your way in a hurry.

Resolve Old Open Debt

Check your credit report for old accounts that show unresolved debt. Just because a business or lender may have given up on trying to collect a debt and you no longer get phone calls or letters, it does not mean it has been erased from your credit report. These problems may never go away if you do not work to clear them up, according to RepairBadCreditReport.com.

Find all unresolved accounts listed on the report and try to get the lenders to settle. In some cases they will be willing to take an amount much lower than you owe and call it even. Be sure that these accounts get reported as "paid as agreed" by the lender. On the other hand, if any accounts show up as unresolved or delinquent and you can provide proof that you paid these debts, contact the lender and get it cleared up and have them report the correction to the credit reporting agencies.

Keep It Under 50

Don't simply think about how much debt you owe. Think about how big of a percentage of your total credit line you owe. The two most important factors in determining your credit score are timely payments and the percentage of your credit you have as an outstanding balance, according to The Motley Fool website.

It is a good idea to keep your balances below 50 percent of your available credit. It is better to aim for 30 percent.

Ask for Increases

If you are unable to pay down your balances to less than 50 percent of your total credit limit, then don't hesitate to ask for an increase in credit. It doesn't sound sensible at first, but the larger your credit limit is, the higher the balance can be before it reaches 50 percent of the total--and that will make a difference on the credit report. Of course, you should not spend this additional money should it become available. Continue to pay the balance down as quickly as you can.

Open Diverse Accounts

It will raise your credit score if you make timely payments to a diverse set of accounts, according to RepairBadCreditReport.com.

If you have a mortgage but have never had a car loan, then consider financing a car the next time you need one instead of paying cash. If you have a car payment but no mortgage, try to get your rent payments reported to the credit bureaus. If you have both, but no unsecured credit, it can only help to open a credit card account. Just be sure not to abuse it.

If your problem is a lack of credit, try getting a secured credit card. Even these cards report to the credit bureaus and will help to quickly establish credit.