Help to Repair My Credit Report

A credit report is a record of your financial borrowing and repayment history, including late payments. Credit bureaus maintain your credit reports in the event you, or a lender, needs to examine your credit worthiness. Having a bad credit report can cause you to pay higher interest rates or be ineligible for loans. However, it is never too late to repair a credit report.

Creating a Budget

A bad credit report is typically a consequence of delinquent debt payments or debt that is out of control. When you create a monthly budget, you will know exactly how much money you have to set aside for bills and necessities, such as groceries. You can then see how much money you have left over to use towards paying off your debts faster. A budget will help you have a sense of control over your finances and prevent you from overspending.

Piggyback

"Piggybacking" is a term used when a person with a bad credit report tries to repair it by becoming an authorized user on another person's credit card. The individual who opened the credit card account must have good credit to make piggybacking work. With time, the individual's good credit history reflects positively on the piggybacking person, as long as this person does not use the credit card or pays the balance in full upon receiving the bill. Before making a credit piggybacking arrangement, both parties should keep in mind that payment delinquency would reflect poorly on both credit cardholders.

Pay Cash

Geoffrey Chaucer stated in his poem "Troilus & Criseyde" that time heals all wounds and the same can be said for bad marks on a credit report. A credit report can improve with time as long as you continue to make good spending decisions and no longer use credit cards to make purchases.

When you are dealing with debt and bad credit, it is best to pay bills and other items with cash, a check or debit card so you only spend money you have. Doing this will help improve your credit report because the amount you owe on credit cards and other loans will continually decrease instead of remaining stagnate or increasing..

Paying Smaller Debts

According to Dave Ramsey, a financial expert, many people believe they should try to tackle their largest debts first to get them out of the way. Ramsey, however, says that the smallest debts are the ones you should focus on first. By paying off your smaller debts, you will have more money to pay off larger debts and eliminate them in a shorter amount of time.