Five Easy Steps to Build Credit 

It takes credit to build credit. So, if you don’t have any credit then getting a line of credit to build your credit history is difficult. And, if you already had a line of credit, but didn’t use it correctly, then getting another line of credit to rebuild is even more difficult.

It all comes down to trust. That’s the basic principle of credit. Can ‘Party A’ trust ‘you’ to use their line of credit responsibly?

It’s not impossible, however, to establish or rebuild, and it doesn’t require a lot of resources, contrary to public belief.

Step 1: Pull Your Credit Reports

 The first thing you need to do, no matter your situation, is pull your credit reports (all 3 bureaus).

It’s easy to do and for a small nominal fee.  You will get access to each credit bureau (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) with scores, from all three credit bureaus and your credit reports can be refreshed every 30 days with new updates, along with daily credit monitoring and alerts. This will allow you to track your progress as you build credit, without hurting your credit scores.

 Step 2: Look Over Your Credit Report 

 It’s important for you to figure out what’s on your credit report and why.

If you have nothing on your credit report that means that you’ve never had a line of credit and you can go ahead and skip down to step 3.

For those of you who do have something on your credit report, then it’s important to figure out what happened.

Payment history makes up 35 percent of your credit score. With that said, missing payments on anything from student loans to monthly credit card payments (and even utility bills) can hurt your credit and make you seem less trustworthy.

Other things that can hurt your credit are:

Applying for too many lines of credit in too short of a time period.

Not having a good mix of credit (you need more than just one credit card).

Not having a long enough credit history.

Abruptly closing a credit line.

Bankruptcy.

Utilizing too much credit for an extended amount of time.

Step 3: Apply for a Credit Builder Loan  

Credit builder loans do not require credit checks. That is because they are designed to help you build credit, but not based on whether or not you have no credit or poor credit.

However, some restrictions do apply. You can apply for one through SelfLender.com after you become a Self Lender member – which is free of charge.

A credit builder loan is like a savings plan that helps you build credit and save money.

It is a small loan that’s held in a CD account for 12 months. The account is FDIC insured, earns 0.10%

APY† interest and is held for you in your name during the term.

The credit builder loan offered inside Self Lender works like this:

Self Lender’s banking partner lends you money that is held in an FDIC insured, certificate of deposit bank account (“CD account”) for 12 months.

Next, you make 12 equal payments over the course of your term to repay the credit builder loan. Payment history is reported to the three major credit bureaus each month.

At the end of the term, you’ve paid off your loan and your CD has matured (and earned interest!). Plus, you’ve demonstrated months of payment history to the three credit bureaus.

 Step 4: Apply for a Secured Credit Card 

A secured credit card paired with a credit builder loan will help you build healthy credit, but only when they are used appropriately. That’s because a secured credit card is known, technically, as a revolving credit line, and a credit builder loan is an installment loan. This pairing helps with your mix of credit, which is 10% of your score.

Secured credit cards work like traditional cards, with one key difference: the cardholder must deposit money with the issuer as a guarantee against the card’s use. This deposit allows lenders to provide cards to those whose credit would otherwise make them ineligible.

For example, if you have a $500 secured credit card, then you must put down a deposit of $500 to use it. Use only 10% of your available credit limit, example $500 limit use only $50 a month and pay it off for maximum credit boost.

Here’s a great secured credit card to use alongside a credit builder loan.

Step 5: Use Your Lines of Credit Responsibly 

If you are accepted to use a credit builder loan through Self Lender and/or a secured credit card then you must use them responsibly.

For the credit builder loan, that means making your monthly payments, on-time each month. For your secured credit card, that means using it responsibly to deomstarte proper credit utilization for maximum credit score increases. Example: a $1,000 credit limit should have a balance no higher than $100 each month. The one thing that high credit score achievers have in common is that they generally only use about 7%-10% of their overall available credit limits.

For more information please visit us at www.creditindy.com or schedule your appointment today! We are Indianapolis’s only Licensed, Bonded & Insured full service credit consulting company. Let us help you improve your credit now by calling us at 317.202.1297