In this bustling world we live, we want things to happen quickly.  The old saying may go “Good things come to those who wait,” but we don’t always have the time (or the patience) to hang around waiting for things to happen.

Though building good credit and repairing bad credit can take time, there are some ways to fix your credit fast.

1. Dispute Credit Report Errors
   Obtaining your credit report is the first step you have to take.  If there are charges that aren’t yours or a misreported collections account, those can be taken care of first.
2. Use an Old Credit Card
   The length of your credit history is an important factor in determining your FICO score.Old inactive cards can be closed or credit card companies can stop reporting them to the bureaus.Making sure that those cards get a little attention can help boost your credit rating.
3. Payment Reminders/Autopay
   The number one thing that will cost you points on your credit score is paying bills late.By setting up payment reminders or electing to do automatic payments you can ensure that this won’t happen to you.

Doing the right things to improve your credit is only helpful if you avoid doing the wrong things.  Make sure you also avoid these fatal credit score mistakes:

1. Paying Bills Late
   This is worth repeating because nothing will hurt you more than late bill paying.  It makes up 35% of your FICO score.
2. Opening New Lines of Credit
   If you are avidly shopping for credit it’s going to reflect in your score.  Anytime a lender walks through the approval process they perform a credit check; this action refers to a “hard pull” and lands on your credit report every time.
3. Maxing Out Your Cards
   The closer your debt is to your credit limit, the worse it is for your score.  Maintaining a healthy gap between your balances and limits is really beneficial.

Establishing credit or improving it doesn’t happen overnight, but the suggestions above can be started right now.