Jesse Jones: How to boost your credit score

SEATTLE — A low credit score might be daunting, but the good news is there are ways to give it a boost.

Credit card interest rates are moving up. According to Bankrate, this week’s average was more than 20%.

To do better than that, you’ll have to work on your credit score.

“A dirty little secret that’s not much of a secret is that credit scores really determine our access to borrowing and the interest rates that we pay on loans. And so this is on everything from credit cards to car loans, even mortgages. Really, it applies across the loan spectrum,” said Mark Hamrick from Bankrate.

One of the things you can do to raise your credit score is to use credit apps like Experian Boost which will give your score a lift. Major companies like Netflix and Disney, as well as cellular providers such as ATT and Verizon all use Experian. Even your rent payment may be utilized with selected property management companies to raise your score. Once your numbers begin to rise, you can start to use banking apps to track them.

“I’m a fan of just going into those mobile apps and looking at that. Obviously, it can be it could be a little too obsessive for some people. But I just think it’s it’s a little like maintaining having an idea about where we are with our health. We want to know how our financial health is and if any of those things seem to be going off track, then we might have to do something,” said Hamrick. “But that’s certainly another thing to do is check your credit report for any errors that might be putting you in a light that you didn’t deserve to be put in.”

To find those errors you’ll need the full credit report. We all know about the federal law giving consumers one free annual report from the three major credit bureaus, but there is more.

The Federal Trade Commission says consumers are eligible for one report per week from all three bureaus through 2023 and six free credit reports per year from Equifax through 2026.

You can find that information at AnnualCreditReport.com

©2023 Cox Media Group