15 Ways to Improve Your Credit

There are a lot of good reasons to improve your credit score. It can help you secure an apartment, qualify for a mortgage or car loan, and pay less for home and car insurance. I can also help you negotiate better rates and terms on financed purchases. It may even let you access more valuable rewards and perks that often come with credit cards that are targeted to people with excellent credit.

For the first year of the pandemic, some low-income households in the U.S. actually saw credit scores rise. This may have been due to several things. There was an influx of pandemic relief cash authorized by Congress. Also, many people had lower expenses thanks to the sudden stop of commuting and business closings that kept folks at home. However, increasing fears of a recession may yet undo some of those gains. And if you’ve been laid off, as so many in the tech sector have been, those financial stressors can do further damage to your score.

If you’re not happy with your credit score, or simply want to try to improve it, first make sure you understand the basics of credit reporting and credit scores. Then take a look at the following 15 strategies to help you reap the benefits of a higher score.

1. Pay your bills on time

While credit scores are determined by company-specific formulas that take into…