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New Year, New Credit: How You Can Achieve Your Best Credit Yet

New Year, New Credit: How You Can Achieve Your Best Credit Yet

New Year, New Credit: How You Can Achieve Your Best Credit Yet

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The New Year always brings a sense of limitless possibility – the notion that you can achieve anything you set your mind to by January of next year. With a little planning and hard work, you can achieve your best credit score ever by the end of the year. If you need a little help along the way, we’ve got some tips in this article that can keep you on the track toward raising your credit score and removing negatives from your credit report.

Stick to Your Financial New Year’s Resolutions
If you set financial New Year’s resolutions at the beginning of the year, you’re already on your way to being more financially savvy, saving money, and learning to create a budget and stick to it. You’ve already carefully planned out your year financially, and when you master budgeting basics, your credit score will naturally go up as a result of your good financial habits. Setting these successful money habits is the foundation you need to improve or maintain your credit score and keep marks off of your credit report. If you didn’t make any financial New Year’s resolutions (link), it’s not too late. Set them now and stick to them for the rest of the year and you’ll see your savings grow and your credit score improve. 

Eliminate Your Debt
The first step to improving your credit is eliminating all debt, including any accrued over the holiday season. If you have a lot of debt, a step in the right direction is to consolidate it so it’s all in one place. The best possible move you can make is to pay your debt off in full so it will stop detracting from your credit score. However, if this isn’t a possibility, getting on a payment plan and paying more than your minimum balance due every month is a good alternative. Before you know it, you’re debt will be paid off and you can really focus on rebuilding your credit.

Pay Your Bills on Time
If you already have good credit or are looking to improve your credit, paying bills on time is the easiest way to either maintain or improve your score. If you miss a bill payment, you risk late fees and interest snowballing out of control, making your debt even harder to pay off. To ensure that you pay your bills on time, you can set up autopay or set reminders on your phone. If you keep paying bills on time, you’ll see your credit score increase over time. Plus, you’ll build good financial habits that will help you maintain a good credit score and blemish-free credit report once you achieve it.

Make Your Budget Work for You
You can find lots of budget templates and recommendations online, but a budget is not one size fits all. If you find a budget plan that’s been successful for someone else, don’t be afraid to tweak it so that it fits your lifestyle and personal goals. Your budget should be customized to you to truly work for you. The best way to customize your budget is by trial and error. Start by laying out your income and your expenses, set aside money for savings, and see how it goes for a month. If it doesn’t work, change it and try again next month.

If you have emergency expenses or need to make large purchases, but don’t qualify for a credit card, CreditBox is here. Apply online today with our easy, confidential application and you could have the cash you need by tomorrow. 
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