Perhaps you may have had good credit in the past, but are now experiencing a much lower credit score due to choices or life circumstances. Or, you may be building your credit for the first time as a young adult or as a newly single adult. Whatever the reason, you can rely on Advancial to provide you with products that can help reestablish your payment history.
Here are a few tips to help improve your credit rating:
Savings Secured Loans – A savings secured loan allows you to borrow money and build your credit without an extensive credit history. You may use your own money as collateral from your saving account or a Certificate of Deposit. If you are establishing or building credit, sometimes using a family member’s collateral may be a better option for you to borrow the money at a more affordable rate. Once the loan is paid off, the collateral is released.
Savings Secured credit card –Enjoy the benefits of a credit card even if you have less-than-perfect credit. Secured with your Advancial account deposits, you can qualify for limits of $500 to $3,000. Just use your card responsibly and, since the card is reported to the three major credit bureaus, you’ll be able to improve your credit score in no time.
Rent payment reporting – Make sure your rent payments are tracked and reported to
Experian RentBureau, the only major credit reporting agency to include on-time rental payment data on its reports. Use of timely rent payments to build and boost credit scores is relatively new, and many people don’t know about it yet.
If you’re already leasing a home, or looking to find a suitable property to lease, ask your management company if your payments are reported to Experian RentBureau. And if you pay rent to an individual rather than a management company, you can still take advantage of a service that collects your rent payments electronically, pays your landlord and reports to Experian. It may be possible to include your excellent rent payment history, too.
Here’s the important thing to remember – to use your timely rent payment history for building or rebuilding your credit, you’ll need to be proactive about it. There are a handful of services that will collect, disburse and report for you, but of course, you’ll pay a small fee for the service each month. You must contact them to pay the small fee, but it can be a valuable investment in building your credit score, along with credit builder loans and secured credit cards from Advancial.
Planning for a good credit rating is just as important as planning for major purchases and life transitions. The importance of a good credit rating means it can’t be an afterthought and it shouldn’t be left to chance.
You’ve made the decision to become a credit union member, and that’s a step in the right direction! Give us a call at 800.322.2709 to apply for one of these products today.
*Advancial is not a credit counseling agency, credit repair organization or similar service provider.