Borrow Credit Scores

If Your Credit Score is Under 700, Make These 5 Moves ASAP

The Penny Hoarder Staff  |  May 11, 2020

It feels like you’re doing everything you can to be responsible with your money, but your credit score never seems to make it over 700.

It feels like you’re doing everything you can to be responsible with your money, but no matter what, your credit score never seems to make it over that 700 hump.

Yeah, it’s frustrating. Some computer system is spitting out a three-digit number that basically controls your entire life.

But before you give up, try these five simple moves. They just might be the kickstart you need to finally get your credit score moving in the right direction.

Best of all? You can do all these things by the end of this week.

1. Write a Love Letter … to your creditors.

If you generally have a pretty solid credit history, save for a few missteps, then sending a well-executed goodwill letter to those you owe could help get you back in good graces with them and improve your credit score.

In your letter, you’ll want to:

  • Explain why and for how long you’ve been a loyal customer of the creditor.
  • Take responsibility for the mistakes that led to the blemishes on your credit history.
  • Describe the steps you’re taking to ensure these mistakes don’t happen again.
  • Appeal to their sense of empathy. Show that you want forgiveness, but also that you are determined to do better going forward. Show them you deserve this!
  • Keep your letter clear and to the point.

Don’t forget to include important information, such as your account number and the date and amount of the missed payment you want removed from your credit history. Once you’ve written your goodwill letter, address it using the information on the creditor’s website.

2. Let This Site Show You Exactly How to Improve Your Score

Although your credit score is a simple three-digit number, knowing what steps you need to take to improve it can feel totally overwhelming.

Thankfully, a free website called Credit Sesame will take a look at your credit report and let you know exactly what you need to do.

Take James Cooper, for example. He didn’t know anything about credit, but Credit Sesame showed him the exact steps he needed to take to improve his score — from 524 to 801.

Then there are people like Salome Buitureria, a working mom in Louisiana who, in using Credit Sesame, found a major error on her report. The site helped her fix the mistake and take additional steps to raise her credit score nearly 200 points.

Want Credit Sesame to show you exactly how to finally get your score over that 700 hump? It takes 90 seconds to sign up and get started.

3. Ask This Website to Help You Pay Your Credit Card Bill This Month

If you can’t seem to get your credit score to budge over 700, it might be because you have some serious credit card debt.

And the truth is, your credit card company isn’t really helping you. It’s just ripping you off with super-high rates. But there are other, nicer companies that’ll help you out. A website called Fiona knows the best ones and could pair you up as soon as tomorrow. 

Here’s how it works: Fiona will match you with a loan that’ll cover your credit card tab. Use that loan to pay off your debt, then make monthly payments to repay the loan. It could lower your monthly payments and help you pay off that debt a lot faster.

Fiona won’t make you stand in line or call a bank. And if you’re worried you won’t qualify, it’s free to check online. It takes just two minutes, and it could save you thousands of dollars. Totally worth it.

Now you can finally start effectively chipping away at your debt — and watch your credit score reap the benefits.

4. Let This Company Handle The More Complicated Stuff

Now it’s time to take a look at everything you haven’t been able to address in the first three steps. And you might need to call in reinforcements for this one — especially if debt collectors are involved. 

If you’ve been getting phone calls and mail from debt collectors, look into Collection Shield 360, a free service that helps people clean up their credit reports and deal with collection agencies. It will contact collectors on your behalf and negotiate to get marks on your credit report removed, plus other steps to improving your credit.

It helped 31-year-old server Tabatha Pankop deal with lingering bills from T-Mobile, Bright House Networks and Verizon. Her credit score jumped up nearly 200 points in just a few months.

See how much it can help you improve your credit.

5. Pay off Debt by Saying Goodbye to Your Car Insurer

When you’re trying to raise your credit score, paying off debt is one of the most impactful things you can do. But how do you find the extra money to do that?

It might feel like you’ve already cut every enjoyable thing out of your budget, but the truth is, one of the simplest expenses you can cut is car insurance.

If you really want to get the best price on car insurance, experts say you should be shopping twice a year. But who has time to do all that?

Thankfully, a service called Gabi does all the shopping for you to find cheaper insurance — with the same coverage and deductibles you already have. And it saves customers an average of $825 a year.

You don’t have to fill out any forms. Just link your existing insurance account and enter your driver’s licence, and it will start looking for cheaper coverage.

Plus, after you sign up, Gabi will keep looking for savings.

Now you’ve got five tactics you can use to get your credit score right where you want it. Good luck — you’ve got this!

This story originally ran on The Penny Hoarder.

Editor’s note: We maintain a strict editorial policy and a judgment-free zone for our community, and we also strive to remain transparent in everything we do. This post contains references and links to products from our partners. Learn more about how we make money.
Editor’s note: We maintain a strict editorial policy and a judgment-free zone for our community, and we also strive to remain transparent in everything we do. Posts may contain references and links to products from our partners. Learn more about how we make money.

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