Spring Cleaning your Credit

We may have six more weeks of winter according to Punxutawney Phil, but many of you may already be starting to think about spring cleaning.  While images of mops, broomsticks, and vacuums traditionally come to mind, cleaning up your credit is an important part of maintaining your household. Start off your spring credit cleaning by getting a copy of your credit report through a reputable site that offers free credit reports like www.annualcreditreport.com.  Once you have your credit report, the true cleaning can begin. First take a glance over everything to be sure there aren’t any accounts you were unaware of. Then check to see if there are any negative factors being reported that you believe may be inaccurate. Should you find any information that you believe is incorrect, make sure to file a dispute in the dispute area of your credit report (disputes are generally resolved within 30-45 days).  Next take a look over the accounts you have and make a plan to improve your score through taking care of old debts, making timely consistent payments,   catching up on any past due amounts, reducing balances owed, and maintaining lower balances on your accounts over time.

While cleaning up your credit and keeping it clean takes some effort, the results are worth it. Should you discover that you may need some help with your cleaning, Clearpoint has knowledgeable credit counselors available at the stroke of a key or the ring of a telephone.