Upgrading Your Credit Rating
By By Mark Woodcock 

Did you know that in the US alone, over 30 million consumers scores are below the score of 620? Because scores represent your purchasing power, improving your rating is extremely important. In most cases the lower the rating, the higher the interest rate of financing.

Below are 5 steps to upgrading your rating and identifying whether or not you can benefit from debt consolidation:

1 Before opting for a debt consolidation firm, it is a good idea to review your report, therefore request a copy of your report. There are three reporting agencies that will provide a free report, Equifax, Experian and Trans Union. Legally, most Americans are entitled to one free report per year.

A score can be tarnished by false information. Payment histroy accounts for 35% of all crdit scores. A late monthly payment can reduce a score by as many as 100 points!

2 Next, identifying how much you owe in your current monthly income is the second way to determine whether a monthly budget versus debt consolidation is necessary. If the total amount of your bills is higher than 50% of your monthly salary, debt consolidation may offer a way to raise your score.

3 Because banks and card companies report the outstanding balance of consumers bills to the

bureaus, the miniaml amount paid does not help augment a rating, therefore it’s best to pay off your bills completely if possible. By paying your bills on a timely basis will help raise your score and rebuild your rating.

4 It is important that your try to raise your rating to over 620 because when financial and lending institutions evaluate and approve credit, they prefer to see low debt balances on cards. The wider the gap is, the better the chance of gaining approval of a low interest rate. Consumers can raise their rating by charging less and paying the entire balance each month.

Debt consolidation can offer you a quick remedy. Debt consolidation companies negotiate interest rates to be waived, giving the consumer the ability to pay their bills faster. Consequently, a score can be augmented rapidly.

5 As simple as bankruptcy may seem, it can also devastate any scoring, as well as the effects last more than ten years. Basically a bankruptcy can lower a rating by some 200 points or more.

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