Everyone desires a good credit rating. Possessing one can unlock financial doors and make you look much more appealing to creditors. However, many people don’t realise how easy it is to build up a credit rating with the correct financial decisions. This is especially important for young people during their 20’s who may hope to apply for a mortgage in the future. It can also be used to provide you with business loans, short term cash advances, and even simple things such as mobile or broadband service contracts.

However, applying for the best signature loan or car finance deal will take shrewd financial planning. While this may seem like ‘boring planning time,’ it can be immensely valuable, and any hour spent here can translate to days or weeks of solid financial security. In a tumultuous world, this can be the bedrock you need to truly live the life you want.

The steps to building great credit are as follows:

Stay Aware

Many people will tell you the first best thing you can do is to apply for credit cards, make your purchases and pay back the balance promptly. This is an excellent guiding point, but it’s not the most important. Staying aware of your credit rating at all times, as well as the circumstances that might bring it down, is just as important. Not only does staying aware in this way give you the opportunity to identify past debts or loans which have completely gone unpaid, but they’ll help you understand and potentially build a timeline for how long you can expect to be in the ‘good credit’ bracket. This can help you plan significant financial investments in the future at a much more accurate timescale than someone who is simply ‘guesstimating’ the process.

Don’t Be Afraid Of Cosign Loans

Cosign loans often exist to help you with a financial circumstance, such as an emergency payment or a large gift you’re buying, without subjecting you to the dreadful high APR a low to medium credit score can net you. Simply find another guarantor to sign their name on the loan in good faith, and repaying the loan back on time (or better earlier,) can help skyrocket your credit score. Of course, asking someone to take this risk on you is a very personal and demanding affair, so be sure to be completely upfront about the loan terms and your requirements for taking it.

Financial Links

Sometimes, your credit score can be affected by the financial links you have. For this reason, staying aware of opening joint bank accounts is appropriate. Unless you have been happily married for at least a year, it’s likely that opening one should be postponed.

Check Information

The simplest way to keep on top of your credit score, and to make sure it’s accurate, is to update your information at all times. Changing certain information such as your current address, marital status and dependants help your credit profile with its accuracy. Not falling down at the first hurdle when applying for credit can be the first line of success in getting accepted.

With these simple tips, you’re much more likely to begin your ascent into solid credit reliability with ease.

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If not managed properly, a credit card can have a massive negative impact on your credit rating. For this reason, you shouldn’t just apply for credit cards on a whim; You need to weigh up all the pros and cons and all the benefits before making any decisions. Shopping around to get the best deals on your credit card is always a sensible option, so here is a list of things that should look out for when you do.

1. Annual Percentage Rate (APR)

This is the cost for using the card if you don’t pay off the balance in full every month. Have a look around for credit cards with the lowest APR, so that you have to pay less interest back if you can’t pay the balance off in full for a month or two.

2. Credit Limit

This is the amount of money that the credit card issuer has agreed to let you borrow. This amount will vary depending on your credit score, current financial situation, and other facts. Because of this, you could be offered anything from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands. Regardless of your credit limit, you will want to avoid spending anywhere near your credit limit, as this will negatively impact your credit score.

3. Annual Fee

Some cards add a fee on top of your balance each year for the use of your card. Like with the balance, you will have to pay interest on this fee unless you can pay the full balance at the end of the month.

4. Charges

Ensure you know of any possible charges for using the card, going over your credit limit, spending money abroad, or making late repayments to avoid any nasty surprises. You can check this on your credit agreement.

5. Minimum Repayment

Even if you can’t afford to pay the full balance each month, you will still be required to make a minimum repayment. This doesn’t tend to be more than around £5 or 3% of your balance, but you should try to pay much more than this otherwise it will take longer and cost much more to pay off your debt.

6. Cash Back

Some credit cards will refund you a percentage of your spendings back onto your card. Even if a credit card advertises cash back, you will want to check the small print, as they may only offer this for customers who spend less or more than a certain amount, or ones who have paid off their balance in full at the end of the month. Websites like best.creditcard compare the cash back offers from a range of different credit cards, as well as other benefits.

7. Points & Rewards

Some credit cards offer points every time you spend money which can later be converted into different types of rewards. These rewards can include vouchers, loyalty points for supermarkets, or even football merchandise.

Be sure not to apply for many credit cards in a short amount of time, as this will harm your credit score. Instead, compare the benefits and see which one fits you best, and ensure you make your repayments if you are accepted.

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Despite all the negatives associated with credit, there are some positives too. When you manage credit responsibly, you can build up a good credit rating that will put you in a good position for car loans, a mortgage or even a business loan. If you think that having credit could benefit your finances, here are some ways you can use credit responsibly and avoid getting yourself into unnecessary debt.

Choose credit with low-interest rates

The type of interest rate you’re offered for a credit card could make a difference to your finances. If your interest rate is too high, you might struggle to make the minimum payments. High-interest also raises the question of why you’d have a card at all – you could end up paying much more for goods than you anticipated. Before making an application for a loan or credit card, do a bit of research first – reviews.creditcard is a great website for checking out different credit cards before you make an application. Make sure your credit rating is in a good place too to make sure that you have a higher chance of being offered a good deal.

Keep your limits manageable

Getting a credit card can actually be a good way to manage your finances and show to potential lenders that you’re responsible with money. Having a limit that you know you could pay off easily is important and can stop you from falling into the downhill spiral that could lead you to thousands of dollars of debt. If you’re offered high limits, refuse them. Lenders will often increase your credit limit if they see that you’re responsible with what they offer, but unless you need a limit that high – it’s not worth the risk.

Use it for added security

There are some good reasons to use a credit card, and one of them is the added security they can bring when making purchases. If your goods were to be lost or stolen, they would be covered by the insurance provided with the card. If you have a dispute over a charge like if you were a victim of identity fraud, most credit card companies will return the charge while they investigate what’s happening. This means you won’t be left out of pocket like you would with a debit card and you’ll be more likely to get a quick solution to your issues.

Pay your balance off each month

If you can pay off your credit balances each month, you will demonstrate to lenders that you can be trusted. Doing this will improve your credit rating, making it easier to get accepted for a mortgage in the future. Use your credit card to cover items you would normally buy anyway, like your groceries or your travel to work. Set up a pre-authorization so that the balance is always paid off and you’ll soon develop an excellent credit score.

Having credit can be a good thing if you use it wisely. If you need help to stay on top of your finances, then opening a credit account may not be the best solution for you. Consider how you’ll manage your finances before you apply and always use credit responsibly to avoid getting yourself into financial difficulty.

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When you’ve got a bad credit score, it can cause you no end of problems when it comes to borrowing money or buying anything on credit. The key to sorting out your credit score is paying off all of your existing debts but you can get a head start by challenging any errors on your report. People don’t often realize it but it’s very common for your credit report to have errors on it that can bring your score down. If you challenge them and have those errors corrected, your score could shoot up straight away. If you suspect that there are mistakes on your credit report, here’s how to challenge them and get them written off.

Types Of Errors

There are quite a few different errors that can appear on your report. Repair.credit has some great information on identifying errors in your credit report. If you’ve been handed a court judgment that you’ve settled on time, that information might not be sent to the credit score company in time and it might go down as a default. If somebody steals your credit card and uses it, that could also go down as bad activity on your credit score as well if you don’t sort the problem quickly. Even simple errors like the bank displaying the wrong amount of money in your account can reduce your score.

Gather Evidence

If you’re going to challenge an error on your credit report, they won’t just take it off no questions asked. You need to be able to prove that there is a problem. Gather any bank statements or other paperwork that you have which shows where the error is. As long as you’ve got that evidence to back you up, you should be fine but without it, you’ll get nowhere.

Contact The Creditor That Made The Error

The first person that you need to get in touch with is whoever made the mistake in the first place. For example, if you’ve got a black mark on your report because of a missed credit card payment that you are disputing, you should contact your credit card company first. Time.com has more information on dealing with suspicious payments on your statement. If they have a record of the mistake then they can sort it out on their end and it should be wiped from your report.

Contact The Credit Report Agency

If the credit card company says that everything is right on their end then the error is presumably with the credit report agency. After you’ve established that the credit card company have got everything right, get in touch with the credit report agency and inform them of the problem. Send them the relevant documentation and they should be able to sort the problem out for you.

Check Other Agencies

Even though you’ve got it sorted with one credit score agency, that doesn’t mean the problem is sorted completely. There might be other agencies that are showing the same error so make sure that you check them all and contact each one and get them to rectify it. Checking them is free, so don’t leave any out.

An error on your credit report can cause you serious problems so make sure that you challenge them as soon as possible.

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If you’re struggling with debt, you could soon find yourself caught in a web that is difficult to get out of. Debt isn’t something that will just go away, so you’ll need to put a plan in place to get yourself out of it. The sooner you face up to it, the sooner you can be back in the black and ensure better financial security for you and your family. Want to know what your options are? Read some of the ways you can take charge of your debt below.

Pay it off

Paying off your debt is something that you’ll have to do, regardless of what option you choose. If you’re able to put a plan in place to budget and make savings, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be able to pay off your debt.

Rank your debts in order from the highest to lowest interest rate

Starting with the debt that incurs the highest interest will help you to pay your debts off quicker, as you’ll be paying off less interest overall. Work out how much you can set aside each month to pay off your debts, allocating more to the account at the top of your list first.

Set yourself a budget

Sticking to a budget is one of the easiest ways you’ll be able to clear your debt. By giving yourself a set amount for your monthly expenses, you can set aside a decent sum to put towards your debts. If you under spend on your budget, use the extra to pay off even more and help reduce your debts quicker.

Close paid-off accounts

Once you’ve paid off your accounts, close them. Having too many open credit accounts with high available balances will reflect poorly on your credit score, and could scupper your chances of being approved for a loan or mortgage. Keep one or two open and keep their balances low – you’ll need to use some credit to rebuild your credit score.

Consolidate

If you want to tackle your debt by avoiding high-interest rates and making your debts easier to manage, you might want to take out a consolidation loan instead. You should only do this if you can manage the monthly payments, and are willing to close the accounts immediately after paying them off.

Do your research first

Before deciding whether or not to take out a consolidation loan, you should do your research as to whether it will actually save you money in the long term. Compare the interest rate versus what you pay now and see if it could be a better deal for you. If you often miss payments because of carelessness or you find it difficult to keep track of multiple payments, this could be a good option to help you stay on track and focus on one monthly payment instead.

Choose the right provider

If your credit rating is poor because of your current financial habits, providers like ReallyBadCreditOffers.com could help you to get a good rate on a consolidation loan. With a good rate behind you and end date in sight, you could be much happier and less-stress about money. Read all of the terms carefully and see if there’s a way you can up your repayments without a penalty should your financial situation improve.

Avoid taking out more credit

A consolidation loan is a great way to make your debts easier to manage, but you should resist the temptation of taking on more debt. Stop spending on credit cards (cut them up if you have to) and don’t make any further financial agreements until you’ve paid off what you owe.

Set up a debt management plan

Alternatively, if you’re really struggling to handle your debt – a debt management plan could be the right option for you. Reading up on how a debt management plan works can help you decide if this is the right option for you.

Can you stick to it?

A debt management plan is great if you can stick to it. If you fail to make payments – you could lose the decreased interest rates or goodwill that has been given to you by your creditors.

Will you need to take out credit in the future?

A debt management plan is only recommended if you don’t intend on taking out more credit soon. If you’re planning to open a new credit card, take out a mortgage or a car loan, you may need to think twice before starting a debt management plan. The rationale behind a plan is to help you take care of your debt, not free you up to add more.

Consider all of the options above to work out which is the most suitable for you. Stop struggling with debt today and work towards a more stable financial future.

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