Credit Repair

Are you one of the many people who have ruined their credit rating? Bad credit habits, illness, or a long period of unemployment has destroyed the credit scores of many people.

Have you done so much damage that you think you will never again be able to get credit again? Fortunately that is not true, you do have options and with careful behavior you can regain your positive credit score. Done correctly it is actually possible to repair your credit score in 12-24 months.

Create an honest and realistic budget.

Figure out how much you make and how much you need to make it through the month. Then figure out where you can cut expenses. Pay yourself first and put 10% in a savings account. Now with what is left determine what 20% of your gross income would be. This is the absolute most you should be paying for your credit card debt. Spend wisely. A realistic budget is your best weapon against overspending.

Clean up your credit report.

New legislation says you can get a free copy of your credit report from each of the 3 credit reporting bureaus once a year. Go to freecreditreport.com and order your credit reports. Go over them carefully to see what they have on report about you. All of your credit is based upon these reports.

Look for errors, incorrect or misleading information and make notes. Make sure your personal information is correct as well. If you find errors, write to the credit reporting bureau and explain the errors to them. They should help you to get the information corrected. If it is an issue with a debtor or credit card you should address it directly, in 25 words or less explain the problem. The credit reporting company will report this to the creditor. The creditor has 30 days to respond. If they don’t respond the credit bureau should clear the item off your record, If they don’t insist that they do. If the creditor responds you will go back and forth a bit until it is resolved. Take the time to go through this process it is worth the hassle.
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Add positive information to your credit report.

With bad credit it can be tough to make positive credit happen. Find a good secured credit card and open an account. Then:

Make small monthly purchases
Pay the amount in full each month
Pay as soon as you get the bill

How long does it take to rebuild credit?

Depending on just how bad your credit was it could take 6-12 months to repair up to possibly 24 before you can buy a house. In the scheme of things this isn’t very long to wait. Rebuild your credit carefully. If you follow these steps you will successfully repair your credit.