Consumer Corner: How do I boost my credit score?

Consumer Investigator Sasha Jones is hitting the streets of South Florida to find out what questions you are burning to know the answers to.

In our series Consumer Corner, NBC6 Responds takes your money questions to the experts.

Each week, we will feature a different consumer question.

Consumer: Sophia Maroulis

Question: “I am wondering how do I boost my credit score?”

Expert: Rod Griffin, Experian Senior Director of Consumer Education and Advocacy

Answer:

According to Rod Griffin with Experian, there is no big secret to boosting your credit score but there are steps you can take to help better manage your credit. He says it is good to know what is on your credit report and whether there are any errors or delinquent accounts.

He says you should also focus on the two most important factors that can impact your score.  

“What credit scores are looking at in the credit report are your payment history, you have to pay your bills on time every time or it is going to hurt your credit score,” Griffin said. “They look at your balance or utilization rate on your credit cards…those two things account for well over half of the score total in most scoring systems.”

He says paying down your revolving credit balances is the fastest way to improve your credit. Also, he says it’s better to only apply for credit when you need it because opening accounts can impact your score. You also want to have a mix of different types of accounts with varying lengths to help stabilize your score.

You can also ask to have negative entries that are paid off removed from your credit report.

It’s important to remember there is no one solution to boosting your credit because everyone’s credit journey is different.