Tips for Better Credit Success

Your credit score and history mean a lot when it comes to your credit worthiness and obtaining a loan. Having a healthier, higher credit score is something that can help you gain more financial freedom overall. While, you might have a low credit score or even no credit score at all, and that is fine. There are ways that you can work on your credit to make sure it is the healthiest it can be.

There are many ways that you can increase your credit and get the best out of it. When you put your cash down, it is one thing but if you need to use your credit then you want to make sure it is in the best shape possible.

Find out more about your credit history and score right here, along with the tips and tricks that you can use to boost your credit score overall. You can even regularly check your credit to make sure it is in the best shape with help from the many apps that you can download to keep track of your score and the history behind it.

Quick Links

1. Understanding Your Credit
2. Tips for Better Credit Success
3. Where You Can Regularly Check Your Credit
4. Frequently Asked Questions About Tips for Better Credit Success

Understanding Your Credit

It has been shown that over 80% of people did not know that they could have higher interest rates, be denied for loans, or even to rent an apartment when their credit scores are so low. This is a surprise to many, but it is true. You could potentially harm a lot of aspects of your life when you do not have a good credit score to work with.

It can even go further, and an employer might want to vet your credit score before they decide to hire you. You might be paying thousands more in those loans, or many other things can happen when you have a poor credit score.

Building your credit is one of the best things you can do. There are three major credit bureaus that come together to provide the scores and history – Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion are the three bureaus to keep an eye on. You can check these once for free per year each. They provide more than your score, but an in-depth look into your payment history, amounts owed, delinquent accounts, and anything else that might have pinged your credit.

By understanding your credit, you’re better able to understand what you qualify for in terms of the loans and other pieces you can get.

Tips for Better Credit Success

There are many tips that you can keep in mind when it comes to better credit success and health overall. Make sure to keep these tips and tricks in mind when you are looking to boost your credit score.

• Regularly monitor your credit reports for any instances of something that is wrong 
• Pay your bills on time, every time because this will show, and it will show if you’re late
• Don’t cancel any unused cards unless they are charging you a monthly fee to use them, because this increases your revolving credit amount 
• Don’t apply for a bunch of loans or credit cards at once if possible. You want to space this out enough so that it is not hitting your credit report too hard 
• Keep your credit card balances low, at least 30% or lower than the amount of credit you have to work with

• Have a variety of credit types that you can use, which would be a car loan, credit card, student loans, and other loans 
• Pay off any debts that are in collection or delinquent to remove them from the credit score, this will boost the score up a lot
• If you have no credit or very bad credit, a secured credit card can help you build credit, especially after a bankruptcy
• Use tools that can help you monitor and boost your credit with tips and tricks given based off of your actual score and history

Where You Can Regularly Check Your Credit

There are numerous places that you can visit to regularly keep up on your credit. Many of these areas will even provide you with more information on how to fix your credit, or ways you can increase your score by changing things.

These are the most used credit card apps that you can come across in Canada and use to your advantage for all of your credit needs.

• Credit Sesame 
• CreditWise
• Credit Karma 
• Mint 

• Experian 
• TransUnion 
• Borrowell 
• Mogo

Frequently Asked Questions About Tips for Better Credit Success

Why should I monitor my credit score?

There are many reasons to monitor your credit score and one of the biggest is to know where you stand when it comes to applying for things. With everything from the home, you want to buy to the apartment you can live in; there are reasons for a credit score and if you’re unsure of where you stand, you won’t know what you qualify for.

Will the changes I made on my credit change right away?

The changes that you make on your credit through the tips will not show changes on your report right away. This is important to keep in mind because you will have to give the changes a bit to take place and increase your credit score overall.

Even the smallest changes can increase your credit score a lot, so keep this in mind when you are going through the tips to increase your score.

Do the apps to track your credit cost money?

No. All of the apps shown are free to use. Some of them might have in app purchases, but those are optional. You can keep track of many things on your credit with the use of these apps. Use them regularly and keep updated with the alerts you can have shown on the phone when something changes.