How do I improve my credit score?  

There is unfortunately no quick way to improve you credit score but it is possible with responsible money handling and proper debt management.

In the flip side however improving your credit score is not as hard as you might think.

The key to improving your score is to keep a clean history and to discontinue bad habits that may affectively be lowering your credit score. This simple action can completely change your credit score and get you back on the road to having a good life with a good credit score. 

Activity on your credit report will last up to seven years, but can last up to ten years in the case of a bankruptcy. This is important to keep in mind when improving you credit score.

Damage done to your credit because of late payments, delinquent accounts or bankruptcy is hard to undo and takes years to remove completely. On the other hand good payment history works to improve your score. 

It is so important that you pay your bills on time. The long term history of prompt payments on loans and credit bills will increase you credit score just as the long term history of late, missed or accounts gone to collections will lower it.

Your consistency with payments will go along way to raising your score and ensuring good credit. Should you miss a payment, catch up on it immediately and keep on top of it. A cycle of late payments can drastically affect you. 

The score is based on a long term assessment of your account activities. The longer that you have had an account open, with a record of showing steady payments, the more reliable you are as a client to that creditor.

For this reason credit cards and other revolving credit are beneficial to your credit score. As long as you are making steady payments and keeping low balances on these accounts it will ultimately improve your score.

Having several accounts opening and closing on a regular basis does not work to your advantage. Open these accounts only as needed and pay them off.  

You need also be aware of the balance on those accounts. It is recommended that your balance stays below 10 percent of the available credit. High balances consistently being carried over will have a negative effect on your credit score.

It is in fact better to have a several accounts with low balances than only a couple that are maxed-out. It is also key that you are making those regular payments against the debt and not simple moving it around from one revolving credit to another.  

Having credit accounts is essential to forming your credit rating, the answer to maintaining a high credit score is not in avoiding these credit accounts but to being responsible and consistent with their management.

Do check your own credit reports to monitor your credit score. This will not affect your score but can help you to see what areas you may need improvement. And above all be patient and consistent with the process. There is no quick solution to raising your score.