Good credit report advice is hard to come by. Almost anyone you speak to about your credit report will give you advice. Not all of it good. Some credit report advice could actually hurt your credit rating if implemented incorrectly.
Before you actually get any advice you should get your annual free credit report. Print it out and look for any errors. Most credit reports have errors, some of which could affect your rating or score. Errors are the easiest thing to fix and, depending on what they are, can greatly improve your rating.
Once all errors are fixed determine you can check your credit scores. If they are good, above 700. Then you are all send. Just make payments on time, don’t apply for new credit unless you have a reason, keep balances on credit cards low. Don’t close out old accounts. Pay them off and let them sit open with a zero balance. History or the age of accounts plays a substantial role in your credit rating.
If your score is below 700 or wherever you determine it needs to be for future applications, insurance, or employment reasons. Then look at your history. Are there late payments? If everything is good then you may have too much open credit in relation to your credit limits. Pay all revolving accounts (credit cards) down below to below 50% of their limits. If you cant pay down your balances then ask to have the limits raised. You want to appear less maxed out in your credit profile.
Do you have a lot of very bad credit, collections, charge-offs, and judgements? If they are recent then you may be able to settle them. If they are old and you have other positive recent credit paying them off now could actually reduce your credit score. You may have to satisfy these for a home loan or for employment reasons. Try and get a deletion letter and plan ahead. You rating may drop and you don’t want to do this right before you need to have your credit checked.
Make sure to get professional advice before making any drastic changes to your credit profile. Do some research and don’t listen to bad advice that sounds to good to be true. There is no magic bullet that is going to fix your credit overnight. Over time you can improve you credit rating with sound credit management.