Personal experience: how I improved my credit rating by 134 points in less than a year

Credit rating affects many factors of life in the USA. Laura Dan told readers Business Insider her story from “the very bottom” and how she managed to increase her credit rating by 134 points in less than a year.

Фото: Depositphotos

Next - from the first person.

Less than a year ago, I was overweight and unmotivated and had a credit score of 568. Credit Karma, VantageScore and FICO considered the rating "poor". I hit rock bottom and made a dramatic difference—not only did I lose 30 pounds, but I increased my credit score by 13,6 points. Now it is 134 points. Here's how I did it.

The process of increasing my credit rating on 100 with extra points can be reduced to seven steps:

1. I checked the rating myself

In January, the first thing I checked was my credit cards, car loans, postgraduate loans and various personal debts. Here's what my credit card debt at the beginning of the year looked like:

January 2019

1. PNC Core: $6 - 323,57% APR
2. American Express: $4 – 520% APR
3. Bank of America: $3 - 012,58% APR
4. Chase Slate: $1 – 817,47% APR
5. Best Buy: $1 – 580,76% APR
6. PayPal MasterCard: $696 – 28,74% APR
7. Macy's: $392,83 - 27,49% APR
8. Target RED Card: $244,51 – 24,9% APR
9. Victoria's Secret: $41,21 - 26,99% APR

Together, this amounted to $ 18 628,93 (Compared to my former high of $ 23 000).

October 2019

1. PNC Core – $4 ($604 less)
2. American Express – $228 ($4 less)
3. Bank of America- $ 2671 ($ 341,58 less)
4. Chase Slate – $1524,60 (down $292,87)
5. Best Buy - $1311 ($269,76 less)
6. PayPal MasterCard – $0 ($696 less)
7. Macy's - $0 ($392,83 less)
8. Target RED Card - $0 ($244,51 less)
9. Victoria's Secret - $63 ($21,79 more)

The total debt on my new credit card is $10 - I paid $401,60 in 10 months.

As for my car loan, I paid it back in May 2019 of the year.

Most of my debt comes from a graduate school loan. At the beginning of the year, the balance was $ 32 304,84, and currently the total is $ 31 918,58. Debt decreased by only $ 386,26.

On the subject: How to get the perfect credit rating

2. I calculated the budget

Then my fiance helped me put everything on Google Sheets: all the balances on my credit card, monthly bills and upcoming expenses. He created formulas that show how much I have left after paying all my bills every month.

This has changed the rule of the game. When I see everything electronically, it’s easier for me to regulate my expenses. Knowing my goals and seeing debts and expenses, I became more responsible.

3. I checked my credit rating

When I checked my credit rating on January 10, it was 568 points. Ten months later, he grew by 134 points to 702. Half of these points came from the most amazing thing of all.

One day in May, I accidentally looked at my Credit Karma app when I noticed that I have a balance of $ 12 000 in my Discover account. I was scared since I closed my Discover account more than ten years ago.

On the subject: 8 tips how to build a good credit history in the USA

The Discover operator informed me that I am an authorized user of a family member account. They removed me immediately, and the next day my credit rating increased by 50 points!

4. I take salary very seriously

My company pays its employees once a month. As soon as I get paid, I proceed as follows:

• I put $ 1200 on my credit cards.
• I determine how much I put on each of the cards; Here is what I paid in October:
  • $772 on American Express (21,49% APR) - that was one of my biggest leftovers.
  • $ 173 on PNC Core (4% APR). The only reason I don't pay anymore is because of the low interest rate.
  • $ 90 in favor of Bank of America (22,74%)
  • $ 60 on Chase Slate (24,74%)
  • $ 55 at Best Buy (26,99%)
• I pay more than the minimum payment (at least a few dollars).
• I check the Credit Karma app at least once a month.
• I update my credit card balance on Google Sheets, which always encourages me to continue paying off my debt.

5. I began to take less on credit

Last February, Johnny and I entered Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University. Then I stopped taking loans.

On the subject: 5 main mistakes when trying to solve a problem with a loan

Even when I paid with several credit cards (Target, Macy's and PayPal), I left my account active to show lenders that I can be responsible for the loan using only a small percentage of my total credit limits.

6. I increased my credit card payments

In 2018, I allocated $ 300 monthly to pay off my credit cards. I increased the payment to $ 915 in February, then to $ 1200 in June (after I repaid my car loan).

7. I was looking for part-time jobs

Paying $ 1200 per month with a credit card is not easy. Working as a freelance employee helped me earn extra from $ 200 to $ 1200 dollars a month.

In a few years I want to buy a house, but with a low credit rating it is difficult.

Thanks to the above seven steps, my credit rating has improved like crazy. Hopefully I will be much closer to 850 points next year.

Read also on ForumDaily:

20 Financial Mistakes: How Americans Throw Money Down the drain

How to hold a green card holder to buy housing in the USA: instruction

'I'll show you real America!': A guy from Russia honestly spoke about the pros and cons of living in the USA

10 US cities where mortgages are most often denied mortgages

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.