How Can I Improve My Credit Without a Job?

Credit scores affect your ability to secure housing and make purchases. If you're looking for employment, a poor credit history may affect your ability to land a job. Improving credit without a job is about maximizing your existing resources. Simple behavior changes can boost your credit rating over time.

Instructions

1

Make monthly payments on time. Try setting up automatic monthly payments to prevent late payments. You can do this through your bank's online bill payment function. If losing a job is making it difficult to re-pay debt obligations, talk with your lender. Lenders prefer to work with borrowers rather than send accounts to collections.

2

Avoid racking up high levels of debt. When struggling with unemployment, try not to tap into credit cards. According to MSN Money, if your credit card balances are below 35 percent of your available credit, it can boost credit scores. If your balances creep past this percentage, you risk damaging your credit score.

3

Talk with collection agencies. If your accounts have already been sent to collections, don't bury your head in the sand. Instead, contact the creditor and work out an arrangement you can afford. Creditors will start reporting positively again, and your credit rating will improve over time.

4

Keep unused credit card accounts open. Closing old credit card accounts might be tempting, but getting rid of these accounts may drag down credit scores, according to Entrepreneur magazine.

5

Clean up credit reporting inaccuracies. Inaccurate late payments and accounts you don't own could be dragging down your credit score. Order a free credit report every 12 months from all three credit bureaus, including TransUnion, Experian and Equifax (see Resources). Review the credit report in detail and complete a dispute form for inaccuracies (see Resources).