Von Schledorn Auto Group Official Blog
How to Rebuild Your Credit
By Product Expert | Posted in Finance Info, Tips and Info on Wednesday, June 15th, 2016 at 9:09 pm
For a good portion of buyers who visit our family of dealerships at the Schledorn Auto Group, the conversation of credit is one that they aren’t excited to have. Many among us have had financial issues in the past, and this certainly enters the equation when we’re thinking about buying a car. Buying a car is a good way to get your credit back on track, but it’s far from the only way. So, how can you rebuild your credit?
How to Rebuild Your Credit
Check Your Credit Report
The only way to really know what you’re rebuilding is to see what your credit report has on it. There may be errors or fraudulent information on the report, and these don’t help your score in the least. Also, if you’ve had any incidents of identity theft in your past, these may show up as well.
Catch Up Your Payments
If you’ve fallen behind on any loan or mortgage payments, it’s important to get those into better standing. Even if you can’t get all of your payments out of the red at once, it’s a good idea to contact creditors to set up a payment plan. Remember, they just want their money, so they’ll usually be happy to work out a plan with you.
Pay Your Bills on Time
Even if your past payment history isn’t ideal, it helps to use better habits going forward. Even things that aren’t specifically related to your credit, such as rent or utility payments, can be reported if they aren’t paid on time. If you can afford to set up automatic withdrawals, it can be a good place to start.
Pay Off Your Debt
One major factor in your credit score is how much of your available credit you are using. That’s why it’s always a good idea to keep paying on your debt, so that your total credit availability increases. Ideally, you’d like to have your credit utilization at about 30% or less.
Practice Better Spending and Saving Habits
As they say, credit isn’t so much a number as it’s a behavior. Try to live within your means, to save money whenever possible, and to make payments on your existing debt. The better habits you create now, the better chance you’ll have to achieve good credit later.
You might be wondering, why would an auto dealership care about helping rebuild credit? The fact is, a good way to build a good payment history is to have a monthly car payment that you pay regularly, and we’re happy to work with all credit situations at our family of auto dealerships. To look at our new or used inventory, or to inquire about financing, come see us soon at EVS Auto Group!
