What are some things I can do to boost my credit score?

Im 22 years old and Im trying to buy my own home by the beginning of next year, I have already cleaned up alot of old mistakes on it so now I just need to boost my score... any suggestions?

Public Comments

1. Don't open up any new lines of credit keep what you have clean and try to pay off any debts as soon as you can. Close any store credit cards you may have (jcrew, victoria's secret, etc) because lenders see how much credit you have available to you (those things can start to add up) and determine if they want to give you a loan.
2. First off, don't close any cards unless they're fairly recent (and even then you probably don't want to) - the older your average credit line is, the better your score. Applying for more credit does lower your score temporarily, so you probably don't want to do that if you'll be looking to buy a house soon. Definitely pay off your credit cards as soon as possible, if you have any credit card debt. Get a credit report and make sure there's no inaccurate information on it that might decrease your score.
3. Don't apply for any credit anywhere no matter how small. Every time you do your score goes down whether you get the credit or not. The only time it goes up is when you pay each one off or pay what credit you have before on time, with in the limits of your income to expenditures of your credit cards. Send in any personal loans you may have. Rent, lights, cell phone, heat, water. Even if your living with someone or parents have them send in payments of credits to these debtors as your referances. Use them as your land lords that you have made payments to and have them send in a report in behalf of your credit payments. Remember anyone you send money to on a regular basis is a creditor. Sincerely yours, Fred M. Hunter fmhguitars@yahoo.com
4. Pay your balances so that you owe 35% of the max credit limit. Don't apply for any new credit cards. Don't close your accounts with the longest history.