When you have bad credit, you have one thing on your mind: fixing it. A poor credit score, typically meaning below 670, can stop you from the things you need and want, like getting a new car loan, renting a nice apartment, or being approved for the mortgage on your dream home.

The good news is that it’s possible to improve your credit scores by following a few simple steps. The bad news is that depending on exactly how bad your credit is, these may not be good enough or fast enough. You don’t just want to fix your credit, you want to do it in the best way possible. You’ve come to the right place because that is precisely what we do here at Safe Credit Solutions!

The Best Way to Fix Your Credit

Each person’s financial situation is unique and complex. The best steps that can help you fix your credit score will depend on your specific credit situation. That being said, a few tried-and true methods include:

#1 Check your credit score on a regular basis. You can check your credit score for free through credit scoring websites or some credit card providers. You can’t know what to improve until you know what is in your report! Plus, it’s possible that there are some errors on your report and your score will jump up once they are fixed. Experts recommend checking your credit score once a month.

#2 Open new accounts with major lenders. Opening new accounts that will be reported to the major credit bureaus is an important step in building or rebuilding your credit. Having at least three to five open and active credit accounts can be helpful in not only fixing it but doing so much quicker.

#3 Don’t miss payments. This is one of the most important factors in determining your credit score! You want to earn a long history of on-time payments, as this can help you achieve excellent credit scores. You’ll need to make sure you don’t miss loan or credit card payments by more than 29 days. Any payments that are at least 30 days late can be reported and hurt your credit score.

#4 Catch up on past-due accounts. A late payment can remain on your credit report for up to seven years, so paying them off and having all your accounts current will be good for your scores. This stops further late payments from being added to your credit history, knocking it back down while you’re trying to bring it up.

Fix Your Credit with Safe Credit Solutions

When you need to fix your credit, it can be difficult to know where to start. Whether you’re building brand new credit from scratch or rebuilding after your scores have taken a hit in the past few years, we’re here for you! For those having trouble with debt, talking to a credit counselor and getting on a debt management plan is often a good option. The counselor may be able to negotiate lower payments, help with high interest rates, and get card issuers to bring your accounts current– just to name a few.