1. Order a copy of your credit report. Review it carefully and correct any significant errors.
2. Pay your bills on time.
3. If you have a questionable credit history, open a few new credit accounts, use them responsibly, and pay them off on time.
4. Don’t open credit accounts you don’t intend to use. Having five or six of the same type of credit card (Visa, for example) does not work in your favour.
5. Note that having a credit card or instalment loan can help boost your score, so long as you don’t have too high a balance and you pay it off in a timely manner.
6. Keep your balance low in relation to your available credit. If your credit limit is $10,000, keeping your balance below $2,500 (or 25 per cent of your limit) will improve your score.
7. Pay off your credit card debt instead of moving it around to lower rate cards. Moving balances to other credit cards (called a “balance transfer”) and closing out the old account can hurt your score.
For information on how to obtain a free copy of your credit report see equifax-free-credit-report
