Would you like to achieve a higher credit score? Well, who wouldn’t? Your credit score is a critical factor in determining your financial health. It lets lenders know how responsible you are for using credit.

A strong credit score offers you access to credit and loan services, plus better terms and interest fees. You must understand the underlying circumstances if you have a low credit score. After that, begin the process of quickly improving your credit score. 

Most people struggle to improve their credit score when working towards qualifying for a lease, loan, or credit card. In such cases, you want a quick fix solution. While there’s no quick fix for poor credit, there are simple solutions to take advantage of.

Use these 7 tips to build your rock-solid credit score quickly.

1. Avoid Having a High Balance

Whatever bills you owe, pay them as soon as possible. This is so that you can avoid having the late payments reflect the on credit score, which can remain there for up to 7 years. If you’re late in paying the bill and are charged a late fee, avoid getting credit damage by submitting your payment before 30 days. 

Typically, a creditor isn’t in a position to report a late payment to a credit bureau until your account shows it’s 30 days past the due date. Also, you need to understand that your payment history is 35% of your credit score. Therefore, you can increase your score by making timely payments.

2. Pay More Than the Minimum Due If It’s Possible

Paying more than the minimum due on your credit bills helps clear your overall balance in bits. It raises your score and improves your credit utilization. Also, if you’re making new purchases with the cards, you need to pay more than the minimum to ensure debt doesn’t pile up.

If possible, you can pay for at least the amount charged for that particular month and any amount you can add on top. Following this approach ensures that the overall debt continues to minimize.

3. Set Up Automated Payments for the Minimum Due So You Don’t Incur Late Fees

Unless there’s an error, late payments aren’t erased from the credit report, even with a closed account. So, ensure you make payments on time, perhaps through automated payments.

Setting automatic payments helps improve your credit score, but only if you set the deduction before the due date. Also, you should pick a date you’re sure you have enough money in the bank account. Making just a single late payment is a recipe for hurting your credit score. 

4. Monitor Your Credit Usage 

Credit usage is the portion of your credit limit you use at a given time. It’s the second most crucial aspect that affects your credit score after your payment history. The easiest way to monitor your credit usage is to clear the credit card balances fully every month. 

If that’s not possible, keep the total outstanding credit limit balance at 30% and below. Work to ensure it goes down to 10% and below.

5. Keep Your Oldest Credit Cards Account Open

The older your average credit age, the more appealing you are to lenders. Accordingly, if you have old accounts you’re not using, keep them open. Closing these accounts while you have balances on other accounts may increase your credit utilization and lower your available credit. The outcome may knock off a few points from your score.

6. Aggressively Dispute Inaccuracies

To err is human, and sometimes creditors make mistakes. They may report a higher credit card balance or indicate late payment erroneously. That’s why we can’t overemphasize credit monitoring. 

Inaccuracies may lower your credit score, so keep track of the score and report any fraudulent activities or errors early enough. Alternatively, you can hire a credit repair company to remove the errors.

7. Financial Education is the Key to Help You With Your Money Management

Exposure to financial education programs may positively impact your credit score. You can save for unprecedented emergencies, manage debt, and meet your other financial obligations when financially literate. 

Understanding how to manage credit and reduce debt may lead to better financial decisions. Choose the most appropriate credit card and use it responsibly to improve your score.