How to improve credit score? How long does it take?
Publish Date: November 05th, 2019
By: Sandhya Kannan, Head – Content
Fixing errors in your credit history can help improve your credit score. However, it can take considerable time to correct your credit score that could be anywhere between 6 to 8 months and sometimes even more.
Understanding your credit score
Your credit score is a three-digit number ranging from 300 – 900 (750 being an ideal score) that sums up your credit history. Your CIBIL score range is typically used by lenders to help them decide your repayment behaviour. If you are considered for a credit card or loan, your credit rating plays a crucial factor in your financial life. Hence, the higher your credit scores, the more likely are you to qualify for credit cards and loans at favourable terms that can save you time and money.
How to increase credit score?
If you have a low credit score and your credit history is not as optimal as it should be, you are not alone. Boosting one's credit rating can take time, but the quicker you manage the issues surrounding it, the faster your credit-rating soars. You can enhance your credit score by implementing several steps such as building a record of paying bills and EMIs on time, reducing debt and increasing your savings.
To know how to increase credit score, here are some steps you can take.
1. Look into your credit report for errors
Scrutinize your credit report to check for incorrect data. Missing information or inaccurate data must be disputed and corrected by contacting the credit bureau and your respective lenders. If you want to know how to improve credit score, you may want to rectify the errors observed in your reports.
2. Paying your bills on time
Making EMI and credit card payments on time is one of the most significant contributing factors to your credit rating. Past credit behaviours such as neglected, missed or late payments take time to get fixed. Overdue payments that are a few days late can also negatively affect your credit rating. Make use of automatic reminders or ECS facilities to ensure that you do not miss out on your credit card or EMI payments. Even though poor credit performance can be detrimental to your credit rating, it does not last forever. If you want to know how long does it take to improve credit score, it can take anywhere between 6-8 months or longer. However, continue to make your bill payments on time, and over a period, your credit ratings are likely to improve.
3. Cut down your debt amount
Typically, your credit utilization ratio or the balance of your debt is crucial in determining whether lenders can offer you an approved loan or credit card. While cleaning up your payment history is essential, you also need financial discipline to ensure a healthy credit utilization ratio. Maintain a low balance on your credit cards and other revolving credit and look to paying off your debt rather than moving it around. If you have unused credit cards, do not close them as a short-term strategy to raise your scores. At the same time, do not apply for new credit cards you don't need as this approach could further lower your credit scores.
4. Make a plan to enhance your credit score
Create an action plan to improve your scores. Ensure you implement it with a commitment to improve your credit ratings and boost your scores. For starters, you may want to maintain low credit card balances along with any other kind of revolving credit you possess. Avoid applying for a new credit card to increase your available credit, as it can further whittle down your credit score.
Conclusion
If you are looking on how to increase cibil score from 600 to 750, you may want to note that any negative information on your credit reports such as delayed credit card payments or EMIs can take time to clear. Additionally, if there is a public record item such as bankruptcy, or too many hard inquiries, you may want to focus on making timely payments and wait. Since there are no shortcuts to fix past credit behaviour and improve your credit scores, consider investing for your future through avenues such as mutual funds and stock investments. Reputed stockbrokers such as Kotak Securities can help you open a demat and trading account to begin your investment journey. Begin a path of steady investments while you continue to make your payments on time to improve your credit score.
