Improve Credit Score: Get a Credit Report Free

Now that credit, mortgages, and other types of credit are becoming harder to get approved for, you may be wondering how to improve your credit score and make your history look more appealing to lenders. Can this be done in a short period of time?

Real improvement on your credit is probably not going to happen in a matter of days and maybe not even weeks, but there are steps that you could be taking right now that will bring change in a reasonable amount of time.

The first thing you wan to do is get a copy of your FICO score and your complete credit report from all three credit reporting bureaus. You can get a credit report free from each agency once a year, but you will have to open your wallet to see your FICO score. Either pay a small one time fee through one of the bureaus, or sign up for one of their services that can further help you mend your credit in time.

Look over your report and right away identify smaller debts and collection accounts that that you may be able to pay off rather quickly. It's time to start thinking about paying extra on credit cards to get the balances down and spending less. If there are small priced debts, pay them off as quickly as possible.

As you pay your credit cards off, do not close the accounts. You want as many lines of available credit as possible because it will help raise your FICO score and make your report more appealing to lenders.

You also want to control your spending and start living within your means. If you want to make a purchase on credit that cannot be paid off on the very next statement, don't do it. It's time to cut back, not add to the debt.

Exactly how long it takes to improve credit score numbers really depends on how much negative debt you are starting out with, how much you can afford to pay off right away, and how much open credit you can free up.