Working Within Your Means to Improve Your Credit Score

You have heard all the conventional advice about improving your credit score. Take out a loan and repay it in installments. Pay your credit card balance down to zero every month. Of course, the way to do those things is to increase your earnings and decrease your expenses. 

As it stands, you already spend every waking moment working, and the cost of necessities is astronomical, so unless you get a surprise pay raise or a steady stream of freebies, it is difficult to make quick progress toward either of those goals. Right now, you are treading water financially, and so is everyone except the wealthiest people. 

It feels like you are getting nowhere, but all the effort you are putting into not making your financial situation worse is helping you gradually improve your credit score. If your debts are out of control despite all your efforts to fulfill your financial obligations, contact an Oakland lawsuits, collections, and creditor harassment lawyer.

A Tiny Balance in Your Bank Account is Better Than a Growing Balance on Your Debt

One of the many perks of being wealthy is that you can borrow money at a low cost, but the rest of us do not have this luxury. The rest of us suffer through the final days of every pay period while we wait for our paychecks to arrive in our bank accounts. During these interminable days, offers to purchase things on buy now pay later (BNPL) are ubiquitous, but if you can resist the temptation, postpone your purchases until after payday because this is better for your credit score. 

If you are among the lucky few who have credit cards that are not maxed out, do not charge groceries on your credit card. It is better to search your pantry or freezer for meals to last until payday or to ask a coworker for a ride home from work instead of paying for a rideshare ride that charges your credit card. Your credit score will reflect the fact that another pay period has gone by in which you did not take on additional debt. If your bank account balance is in the single digits the day before payday, but you have not taken on any more debt, you win.

Get Credit for Paying Your Bills on Time

When homeowners make payments on their mortgages, the credit reporting bureaus find out immediately. Meanwhile, the rest of us pay our rent on time every month, but the credit bureaus do not notice. That is starting to change, as some landlords report tenants’ rent payments to credit reporting bureaus. If yours does not do this, you should subscribe to a credit reporting app that reports your payments on rent and utilities.

Paying Your Bills a Little Bit Late is Better Than Paying Them Very Late

Not being able to pay bills on time is a lot of people’s reality. Paying one bill late this month is better than paying two of them late. Likewise, paying a bill a day late is better than a week late, and a week late is better than a month late.

Contact the Law Office of Melanie Tavare About Improving Your Credit Score

A debt relief lawyer can help you get relief from debts. Contact the Law Office of Melanie Tavare in Oakland, California, or call (510)255-4646 for a case evaluation.