15 Simple Ways to Boost Your Credit Score

Did you know that a good credit score isn't just important if you want to borrow money? When you apply for a job, get insurance, sign up for utilities, or get a cell phone or internet service, your credit will probably be checked.

A good score can make it easier to do business with lenders and companies you want. But a low score can cause all sorts of problems from loan denial to large required security deposits.

The good news is, it's easy to raise your credit score. In fact, here are 15 possible ways to help give yours a boost.

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Credit report errors are surprisingly common, and they can do serious damage to your credit score. The good news is, correcting them is really easy. You just need to contact the credit reporting agencies and dispute inaccurate information.

The process can take around 30 days for the agencies to investigate and remote any negative information placed on your report in error. So be sure that you take action quickly if there's something on your report that doesn't belong.

ALSO READ: 3 Types of Credit Report Errors to Look Out For

Sometimes, you have negative information on your report because of credit mistakes you made in the past. For example, if you paid late, you may have a late payment record.

In certain cases, creditors may be willing to work with you to remove these black marks from your record -- thus improving your score. You can try to write a goodwill letter explaining why the mistake happened and asking the creditor if there's anything you can do to get them to remove it.

Often, if you are still doing business with the creditor and have generally paid as promised and been a good customer, they will agree to simply remove the negative info from your report.

Payment history is the key to a good credit score because it's generally given the most weight in credit score formulas.

Paying late even one time can raise major red flags about your responsibility as a borrower, so it can drag your score down dramatically.

To build credit, you'll want to do everything possible to develop a solid payment history by paying your bills on time every month.

If you want to make sure a payment never slips through the cracks, set up automated payments with all your creditors (just be sure that you won't overdraft your bank account by doing so).

Automating your payments means the money comes out of your account without any intervention on your part, so it should be impossible to miss a payment. Those on-time payments will be reported to the credit agencies every month and help you build a solid score over time.

Reducing the balance on your loans and credit cards can help you to increase your score.

As lenders see you've made progress in paying off past loans, your score goes up and they become more confident you'll be responsible in paying them back, too, if they offer you a loan in the future.

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The mix of credit and loans you have is also a factor in your credit score, since lenders generally like to see you can manage different kinds of payment plans.

Ideally, you'll have some revolving credit, such as credit cards, which allow you to borrow up to a set credit limit, pay back what you owe, and borrow more as you pay down your balance. You'll also have some installment loans, such as a car loan, which involves borrowing a set amount of money up front and paying it back on a fixed schedule.

ALSO READ: What's the Difference Between Revolving Debt and Installment Loans?

The number of inquiries you get plays a role in your credit score. You get an inquiry when you apply for new credit, and it remains on your record for two years after your application. This is true whether you end up getting a loan or credit card as a result of the inquiry or not.

Too many inquires could suggest that you're starting to borrow more than you should -- and thus your credit score could fall if you get an excessive number. To make sure that doesn't happen, pace yourself when applying for new credit.

If you're looking to quickly boost your credit score, you can see if a friend or family member will let you piggyback on their positive history.

This can happen if they name you as an authorized user on one of their older credit cards with a positive payment history. The credit card will show up on your record and you'll get the credit-building benefits of a longer credit history with a solid payment record.

Credit utilization is also an extremely important factor in credit scoring formulas. It refers to the percent of available credit that you have used. For example, if you charge $300 on a card with a $1,000 limit, then your utilization is 30%.

Maintaining a lower utilization ratio is better than a higher one -- but you especially should aim to avoid letting this number creep above 30%, because going above this limit can seriously hurt your credit score.

Keeping your spending low helps you maintain a low credit utilization ratio, but it can be difficult if you want to use your cards to make purchases. That's because even if you pay your balance in full, you may be reported as carrying a balance depending when the card company sends data to the credit reporting agencies.

The good news is, many creditors allow you to request periodic credit line increases -- typically without checking your credit score. If you can regularly raise your credit limit, you should be able to keep your utilization ratio low just by virtue of the fact your limits are so high.

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It's impossible to build credit if you don't have access to any. That's because you'll need to be able to borrow to show you can repay debt responsibly.

Secured cards can be a good option when you have no credit score or a very low one and can't access other types of debt. You'll have to put down a deposit equal to your credit limit, but almost anyone can get approved.

Once you do, start using your card for small purchases and paying it back in full on time so your payment record can show up on your credit report.

Credit-builder loans can also help you show that you're a responsible borrower. These are special loans offered by credit unions and certain banks.

You'll be approved for the loan and make payments, but will get the money only after you've paid off the loan in full. The purpose isn't to allow you to borrow to make a purchase since you don't get the money until the loan has been paid -- but instead it's to show you can be responsible with borrowing.

ALSO READ: Could a Credit-Builder Loan Be the Ticket to Improving Your Credit Score?

A longer account history leads to a higher credit score. Unfortunately, closing older accounts shortens your average age of credit accounts. This can hurt your score.

Your score could also be hurt by the fact that you've lost access to a line of credit, which affects your utilization ratio.

Since this can do double damage to your score, it's best to avoid closing old accounts.

If you don't have a long history of borrowing, you may be able to raise your credit score by adding other kinds of payment records onto your report.

For example, services such as Experian Boost allow you to get credit for paying for streaming services, utilities, and phone bills on time. Adding these other accounts to your credit record could make a big impact on your credit history if you don't have much history to speak of.

Finally, it's important to check your credit score and report regularly when aiming to build credit. This can help you track your progress, stay motivated, and see what types of changes are paying off.

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By taking these steps, you can easily boost your credit score.

This should open all sorts of doors for you, making it possible to borrow affordably and live and work where you'd like without your credit history interfering with your efforts.

It's well worth taking steps to improve your score, especially when many of them simply involve practicing responsible borrowing behavior.

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