5 ways to turn no credit into good credit

Jan 17, 2022 1:10 pm


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If you have no credit score, the good news is you’re starting with a clean slate. Your best options to start building toward a good credit score are:


1. Secured credit cards. These cards, as their name suggests, are backed by a security deposit.


2. College student credit cards. Such cards are relatively easy to qualify for if you have no credit.


3. Credit-builder loans can also help you establish credit and do not require upfront cash as secured cards do.


4. Authorized user status. Becoming an authorized user on someone else's credit card with a good payment record can help put you on the credit map. You are not responsible for payments, though, and its effect is limited.


5. Getting a co-signer. This is risky for the co-signer, because he or she is fully responsible for paying off the loan. Failure to pay on your part could hurt the co-signer's credit and jeopardize your relationship.


According to https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/finance/no-credit-vs-bad-credit-difference if you are starting with bad credit, you have a different problem with a similar solution.


Instead of trying to build credit, you are trying to rebuild it.


Unlike people with no credit, you have a credit report, and you’d be wise to know what it says. Here’s what to do:


1. Get a free copy of your reports from each of the three major credit reporting agencies. You are currently entitled to one per year from each.


2. Check your reports for errors, particularly for addresses where you’ve never lived, accounts you don’t recognize or payment amounts that seem off.


3. You can dispute errors online; you have to do it separately for each credit bureau, but it’s worth the time and effort. Incorrect information can significantly damage your scores.


Lenders often use an automated process to assess this information. However, each lender will evaluate and assess this information differently.


Lenders scores are different from the credit ratings a credit referencing agency will provide, which are only available to you and based on the information included in your credit report.


These ratings are designed to help you understand how firms might use your credit information to decide whether to offer you credit.


Credit referencing agency ratings only offer a general indication of how likely firms might be to offer you credit. Having a high rating doesn’t guarantee any particular business will actually offer you credit. This is because each firm uses its own criteria, which might vary depending on which credit product you’re applying for.


You’ll usually get a better credit score if you:

*Own your own home and/or have lived at the same address for at least a year

*Are not connected financially, through your mortgage or a joint loan or bank account, to someone with a bad credit score

*Have built up a good credit history by repaying credit agreements on time, as well as other bills (such as gas, electricity and mobile phone)

have evidence of stability – for example, you’re employed rather than self-employed, you’ve lived at the same address, worked for the same employer and had the same bank account for a long time.

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