My Credit Score is Under 600 - What Should I Do Next?

In this article I'd like to address a question I answered on a credit restoration blog earlier this morning. A reader in great financial distress wrote in a seemingly full fledged panic: "my credit score is under 600....help!"

The truth is, any score in this range is NOT good. You are going to have problems getting even "B" grade mortgage money, will probably NOT qualify for most unsecured credit cards, and you may even have a hard time buying a new car. But, even with that said...all is NOT lost. If you have a quick 60 or 90 days to invest in your financial future, these 3 simple tips should turbo charge your score in short order right back up to where it belongs. Let's look at a few of the recommendations I made.

Quick Cash Loan

Pay down Your Balances if Able

This is a very simple way to boost your score in a heartbeat, and really only takes one cycle of monthly reporting updates to reflect the changes. If you have available cash on hand (the guy above actually DID) you can simply pay down the amount you own on each card. Try to reduce the balance, relative to the credit limit extended, to UNDER 30% whenever possible. Again, a significant portion of your score is predicated on the amount you owe, relative to the amount of credit extended to you, in aggregate. Simply dropping these ratios down to acceptable percentages is easy, effective and ALMOST overnight.

Take the Good Credit Challenge, Baby!

Challenge EVERYTHING on your report that is negative, and old. (Of course, ultimately you will want to challenge everything that is simply negative at all) Accounts that are dated 4 years ago, and longer are VERY easy to get off of your report, simply as a function of how these accounts are prioritized by those reporting them as delinquent to the bureaus. You need not UNDERSTAND why this is, just know it works. Find your old derogatory items, prioritize them by degree of ugliness, and simply start churning out the disputes! It's really simple, and you WILL be surprised at how fast your score goes WAY up!