You might not think about it much, but your credit score is one of the most important numbers in your life. If it’s low then you won’t be able to apply for loans, or at best will be stuck with high interest loans that will cost you a small fortune. If you’re in that situation then you need to start building your credit score, and in this article we’re going to tell you how. 

Pay off Loans

One of the biggest factors that impacts your credit score is credit history (around 35% of the score) which means that any late payments you make are going to have a big negative effect. If you’ve already got late payments then they’re going to stick around on your history for the next 10 years so you want to make sure you’re doing everything you can to counteract it. 

Paying off loans on time with the right amount is exactly what you need to do, make sure you’re able to do that, even if it means skimping on other things for the next year or so, once you’re free of that loan, you and your credit score will feel better. 

Buy Things With Credit

With the way credit score works, it can only improve if you’re actually using credit, so while it’s good and safe to pay off your loan, you still want to be consistently using credit. That’s where a credit card comes in. If you can make regular payments with a credit card instead of debit, that can actually start improving your credit score, as long as you can pay it off without issue. 

Start making regular purchases like groceries on credit and paying them off as soon as you’re able and you’ll start making a slow but steady increase in your credit score. 

Check Your Credit Report

When it comes to improving your credit score your credit report is your secret weapon. It’s the summary of all of your financial activities and if you know how to read it, your key to everything that affects your credit score. You’re entitled to two free reports a year and you should absolutely take advantage. 

One of the key things you can do when you get your first report is search for errors and mistakes, your low credit score could be the result of an error on the report (it happens more than you think) so absolutely check to make sure all of the information on the report is accurate and report mistakes when you find them.