January 2014, also known as New Year’s resolution time. One of the biggest resolutions, along with losing weight, getting out from under debt, quitting smoking or even getting a new job, is improving credit.
There is only so much a person can do improve credit as far as actions they take. What do I mean? As an example, if you have a bankruptcy, you may ask yourself what you can do. It’s there, like a big red beacon. A BK can be on your report for up to 10 years, and there’s very little you can do to change it, other than hiring a credit repair company to have it removed, but there are no guarantees.
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You can try to counterbalance the negative affects things have by doing the other things well, but you won’t be able to truly negate the bad things while they are still present on your reports.
However, you can help improve your credit scores quickly if the issue is credit card debt.
It’s easy to get pulled into the trap of credit card debt. Credit cards allow you to purchase the things you desire without totally swamping you, but as you creep closer and closer to those limits, the worse your score becomes. This is that infamous revolving utilization percentage we’ve gone over several times on this site.
But here is where there is good news: enter the authorized user strategy. Consumers can help their credit scores drastically by what’s called becoming an authorized user on someone else’s credit card account. As an authorized user, the account is added to your credit reports. If it is old, and paid consistently on time and has a low balance relative to limit, it will help your scores.
This strategy is controversial. Many people in the industry do not like it. Several years ago, credit repair companies figured out that they could act as the middle man between consumers who wanted better credit with consumers willing to add strangers to their accounts in exchange for money.
The term “piggybacking” was invented. One of the best methods for a young person to get credit showing on their reports is to have a parent or loved one add them to they’re revolving account(s). The best news about this strategy is there is no negative consequences on the primary cardholder, and the authorized user is not liable for any of the card’s purchases. After adding an authorized user, a card is generated, but it doesn’t even have to be given to the authorized user for him or her to benefit. Also, the authorized user has no actual authority on the account, unable to make any changes at any time. The only drawback is if the primary user runs into financial trouble and starts carrying larger balances or missing payments, in which case the authorized user should be removed. Please take a look at our site, at our tradelines. At Boost Credit 101 we utilize many different lines to help improve your credit instantly by this piggybacking method.
