Aaron Atkins is tired of paying rent.
He lives in Phoenix, Arizona, where the rent just keeps going up.
You know how it is.
Its like that everywhere, but especially in Phoenix.
Its really bad here.
He figures hed do better and get more living space by spending money on a mortgage instead of rent.
He immediately had a problem: His credit was pretty lousy.
He had a low credit score of only 520.
A previous relationship really wrecked my world, in terms of finances, Atkins said.
Thats when he foundCredit Sesame, a free website that helps people manage their credit better.
He heard about it in a YouTube video.
Realtors told him hed need a credit score of at least 650.
Within six months, hed raised his score from 520 to 640.
Probably not as good as youd like.
It always seems like an uphill battle to build (and keep) a decent amount in savings.
But what if your car breaks down, or you have a sudden medical bill?
Ask one of these companies to help…
The first thing they did is, they actually gave me access to my credit score, Atkins said.
Do this, this and this.
If its good, itll show you ways you could make it even better.
Itll even show you if theres a mistake on your credit report thats holding you back.
(One in five reports has a mistake.)
Dont Miss:
Get Paid $225/Month While Watching Movie Previews
1.
You send dispute letters to the three major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian and Transunion.
Through Credit Sesame, Atkins got a company named Lexington Law to take care of this for him.
Hes kept his free Credit Sesame membership, though.
Because it often helps your credit score to have credit that youre not fully using.
Atkins always pays off his credit card bills every month.
He doesnt keep any unpaid balances, so hes not paying interest.
If youre using up most of your available credit, that could hurt your credit score.
It counts for about 30% of your score.
If you have more credit cards, youll have more credit available to you.
You just have to resist the temptation to use all that credit.
Dont max out your cards.
It influences major parts of your life, like where you live and what you drive.
*
I would like to be able to move into a house, Atkins said.
Hopefully I can make that happen before too long.
Mike Brassfield ([email protected]) is a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder.
Hes a Credit Sesame member and finally got his credit score above 700, woo hoo!
**This article is written about a true Credit Sesame member.
When you log into your bank account, how do your savings look?
Probably not as good as youd like.
It always seems like an uphill battle to build (and keep) a decent amount in savings.
But what if your car breaks down, or you have a sudden medical bill?
