How do I improve my credit score quickly?
I need to buy a house in about a year and my credit score is around 650, which I'm told is mediocre. What can I actually do in the next 12 months to boost my score as much as possible? Should I pay off my cards completely? Open new ones? Close old ones? I'm getting conflicting advice.
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3 Answers
If your employer offers a 401k match, contribute at LEAST enough to get the full match. That's free money — like a 100% instant return. Skipping the match is leaving thousands of dollars on the table every single year. Do that before anything else.
I made this exact mistake when I was younger and it cost me. Learn from others instead of learning the hard way. The personal finance section of any bookstore has dozens of books — they mostly say the same sensible things for a reason.
Make a budget and actually stick to it. Boring advice, I know, but it works. The envelope method helped my family — cash in labeled envelopes for groceries, gas, fun money. When the envelope is empty, you're done spending in that category.
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