{"id":174,"date":"2018-08-07T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-08-07T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.consumerslaw.com\/blog\/7-ways-millennials-can-boost-their-credit-scores\/"},"modified":"2020-03-20T21:49:57","modified_gmt":"2020-03-20T21:49:57","slug":"7-ways-millennials-can-boost-their-credit-scores","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.consumerslaw.com\/blog\/7-ways-millennials-can-boost-their-credit-scores\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Ways Millennials can boost their Credit Scores"},"content":{"rendered":"

Millennials may be aware of the harmful effects of bad credit. The difficulty is in determining ways to change habits and establish financial discipline that will improve their financial outlook and their credit scores. \u00a0The following steps may show useful ways to carve a path to a brighter financial future.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

1. Use Your Student Loans to Build Credit History<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Establish a payment plan with your loan provider that works within your budget. Designate a specific portion of your weekly income for your monthly student loan payment. \u00a0Stick to your plan and make your monthly payments in full and on time.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

2. Get that First Credit Card<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

You have to have credit to build credit. Often, obtaining approval for a credit card may be difficult for young people. \u00a0Credit issuers usually require a strong credit payment history and a good credit score. \u00a0Without the track record, millennials may consider building their credit through a secured credit card which requires a deposit, generally equal to or less than the card\u2019s credit limit. Payments must be made by the due date, as full regular payments factor in to most credit scores. \u00a0Secured credit card issuers may \u201cgraduate\u201d card holders with good payment histories to unsecured cards.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

3. Check for Mistakes on Your Credit Report<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve never checked your credit report before, now is the time. Consumers may obtain one free credit report from Transunion, Experian and Equifax every twelve months.\u00a0 Check your reports for misreported payments or if\u00a0you\u2019ve been a victim of fraud<\/a>; either of which can be damaging to your score. By checking your report for mistakes, you can dispute the errors and correct them.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

4. Become an Authorized User<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

You may have the privilege of becoming \u00a0an authorized user on a family member or friend\u2019s card. However, the privilege has consequences. You must remember to make your payments in full and on time. \u00a0If payments are not made timely, the credit card may be jeopardized, as well as the card holder\u2019s credit reports and score.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

5. Improve Your Credit Utilization Ratio<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Lenders evaluate loan applications by an applicant\u2019s credit utilization ratio<\/a>. \u00a0A major risk indicator for lenders is where credit card balances are compared to credit card limits. \u00a0When balances reach the card limit, lenders perceive risk. To lower your utilization you may increase your available credit by paying down debt, getting another credit card or raising your current card\u2019s limit; all of which improve the ratio between how much is available to you verses how much you\u2019re actually using.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

6. Don\u2019t Close Old Credit Accounts<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

If you have an old credit card you no longer use or have already paid off, don\u2019t be too quick to close the account. As long as it doesn\u2019t have an annual fee, your unused credit line can help lower your credit utilization ratio and lengthen your credit history. Even just the smallest amount of activity can strengthen your credit as long as you remember to make the payments in full and on time.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

7. Set Up Automatic Bill Pay<\/strong> Whether it\u2019s for utility bills, insurance payments or a store credit card, sign up for automatic bill pay to ensure you\u2019re making all payments by their due dates. You should still keep an eye on your accounts to ensure that payments have been applied timely and accurately.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Seek Legal Help<\/h2>\n

Flitter Milz is a nationally recognized consumer protection law firm representing victims of credit reporting accuracy and privacy violations. If you have questions about your credit score, or errors on your credit reports, contact us<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0for a no cost legal review.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Millennials may be aware of the harmful effects of bad credit. The difficulty is in determining ways to change habits and establish financial discipline that will improve their financial outlook and their credit scores. \u00a0The following steps may show useful ways to carve a path to a brighter financial future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3],"tags":[53,38],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.consumerslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.consumerslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.consumerslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.consumerslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.consumerslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=174"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.consumerslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1917,"href":"https:\/\/www.consumerslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174\/revisions\/1917"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.consumerslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.consumerslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.consumerslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}