FICO Tips - Improving Your Payment History

• Pay your bills on time.
  
• Delinquent payments and all collections can have a major negative impact on your score.
  
• If you are having trouble making ends meet, Contact your creditors or see a credit counselor. This won't improve your score immediately, but as you begin to manage your credit and pay your bills on time, your score will improve over time.
  
• If you have missed payments, Get current and remain current. The longer you continue to pay your bills on time, the better your score will be.
  

• Pay off your debt rather than moving it around.
  
• The most effective way to improve your score in this area is by paying down all of your revolving credit.
  
• Keep balances low on credit cards and other "revolving credit".
  
• Having large amounts of outstanding debt can affect your score negatively.
  
• Don't close unused credit cards as a short-term strategy to raise your score.
  
• Don't open credit cards that you don't need just to increase your available credit.
  
• For more tips on improving your credit, visit improve your score from MyFICO.com