Pay Bills Promptly

• The best way to improve your credit is simply to pay your bills in a timely manner. This will give you a clean credit report with a list of accounts in good standing and a history of no delinquencies. Unfortunately, accounts for common services like utilities, phone service, auto insurance, or cable can only hurt your credit, not help it. Only late payments are reported to the credit agencies, not the current accounts. On a similar note, avoid bouncing checks at all costs. The banks have their own credit reporting agency, so bounced checks may not show up when you pull your credit report from the major agencies, but a bank-affiliated lender would have access to the information and deny your application.
  
  

Monitor Your Credit Report

• Many people get an unpleasant surprise when they are denied for a loan because of incorrect information on their credit report. If you are denied, request a copy of your credit report from the lender for free. There are also online services that allow you to view your credit report, but be careful as many of these require a subscription in their monitoring program to see the full report.
  
  

Stay in the Same Place

• Frequently changing jobs and addresses hurts your credit rating because it shows a lack of stability. This is especially important when applying for a car or home loan. Lenders want to see that you have a steady means of income available to pay off the loan.
  
  

Use a Secured Credit Card

• If your credit is so poor that you cannot qualify for a traditional credit card, look for a secured credit card instead as a way to slowly build up a good credit history. These cards require a deposit in advance to cover any charges placed on the card. As long as you pay the monthly bill on time, this deposit is not used and is refundable when you close the account. Most secured credit cards have a low limit, usually around $500 to $1,000.