Making a Good Credit Score Into A Great Credit Score

[david6789]

Ok a brief history:

I had great credit (700 score area). Got married, my now ex-wife screwed my credit all up. Got a Bankruptcy (just over 2 years ago). Paided EVERYTHING off. I own nothing to anyone. I want to build credit. I have 20 GOOD credit entries and 9 BAD entries on my credit report. (the 9 are from the bankruptcy mainly) I now have a score of 550.

I want to improve my credit score drastically. I was thinking if I changed my ratio of good credit to bad by getting a few credit cards and charging say $20 a month and paying off them a month may help??

I have received my credit report and made a statement saying the bad credit was due to a divorce and I have disputed all incorrect info in the credit report as well.

Any suggestions? Please help me?

[Mr. Knowitall]

The best way to increase your score, as you note, is to use your credit. The problem is, finding a way to use it that isn't extortionate - lenders who will work with you will probably demand absurd interest.

I know of a person who bit the bullet and bought a car, despite a bankruptcy, at an absurd interest rate. He paid off the car over the course of about a year. He claims that the loan, with on-time payments and an early payoff, significantly improved his credit score. The early payoff also had the advantage of limiting the amount he had to pay in interest, which I think was in the neighborhood of 17%, over what would otherwise have been the full life of the loan.