5 Smart Ways to Boost your Credit Score

Published on: 12 May 2017 Last Updated on: 29 October 2024

It’s a myth that you have a single credit score.

You probably know that your three-digit credit scores based on the information of your credit reports are a major factor in deciding whether you get a loan or not.

Your credit score can influence everything; from interest rates to your rentals, premiums, and even job eligibility too. Also, the interest rate you are going to pay for loans, mortgages, and credit cards is determined by this score.

When you have a good credit score; the lenders easily lend you the money that too at lower rates than others.

Your credit scores are not static and improving it can take time; from a year to two years- depending on the kinds of changes needed to be made. With the interest rates going high every day; it is essential to get started for improving your credit score if it is not high as it should be. Here are the five smart ways, which you can use to boost your credit score quickly and in an efficient manner.

Check Your Credit Reports

With so much running in your previous credit history; now, it’s a good time to get your credit report from the best credit bureaus, which will make sure that your report is correct and is reflecting your proper borrowing activities.

If you find an error in any of the reports, you have to go through all the necessary steps of removing it. Start by calling the credit bureaus to report them the wrong information and by asking them to update it in your account.

Your credit score will considerably improve just be getting the negative information corrected.

Pay your Bills on Time

Well, your payment history reflects 35% of your score.

Not paying the bills on time is the biggest influence on your credit card score. Lenders report a late payment to the credit bureaus once the thirty days have passed from the bill’s due date. Also, one late payment stays on your credit report for seven years.

To avoid, keep an eye on all your credit card bills and set your important payments to auto-pay so that your mandatory bills are always paid. You need to pay you all the dues on time to improve your credit score in a matter of months.

Eliminate Credit Card Balances

Credit card balances come under the category of bad debt. Make a proper and step by step plan to waive off your credit card debt and overall utilization. One way is to make use of the 0% balance transfer offer. Another way is to use a personal loan to pay off your accumulated credit card debt. Loans and transfers work as a great option if you use the promotional period to pay the debt.

At last, you can gather all the credit cards and pay all the small balances off. Paying all your credit card will also reduce the amount of interest you are paying every month.

Don’t Apply for a New Credit

Whenever you apply for a new loan or credit, it generates a new entry on your credit report. Credit report entries are only the way how lenders come to know that you have been applying for the credits.

So, if you’ve applied for new credit; there is nothing you can do rather than waiting for them to disappear as these inquiries stay on your report for two years. It is recommended that you should not apply for new credits when trying to improve your credit score.

Even a small change can mean big improvements.

Keep your Old Accounts Open

Keeping your old accounts work will help you keep long credit history on your report. If you had debt on your old accounts and you have handled and paid it well makes good for your credit report.

It is very important to get the highest credit score possible as it has a huge effect on your financial life. Also, everyone’s score is unique, so there is no hard set of rules to improve your credit score.

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A Beginners Guide to Investing: Getting Started in 8 Simple Steps

Did you know that 61 percent of people find investing scary or intimidating? This number is even higher when it comes to millennials. Investing in the stock market isn't just something super clever people do. You don't have to be really wealthy to start investing in stocks. But you do need to know what you're doing before you get started. That's why we've put together this beginner's guide to investing. Get started with our guide to investing in 8 simple steps. 1. What is Investing? Instead of just putting your money into your bank account and allowing it to earn interest, an investment is a risk. You're not guaranteed any returns on your investment. Therefore, you have the chance of making a lot of money if you play your cards right. But you also could make a mistake resulting in less money than with which you started. You can even lose it all. There are multiple different kinds of investments you can make. These include: Shares Funds Bonds Property (check out Turner Investment Corporation for a place to start) Whiskey Land Antiques This includes everything from the conventional shares and funds to the less obvious whiskey and antiques. It's basically anything that you believe will increase in value over time. But for our purposes, it's best to focus on the stock market. This involves buying shares in one or more companies to make a profit over time. When most people think of stock markets they imagine lots of young and flashy stock brokers shouting "buy!" and "sell!". But the truth is that it's much more boring than this. It's actually about selecting a number of shares or funds, tracking how they're doing and pulling out when you think it's a good time. 2. Stock Markets and How They Work A stock market is just a place where people come together to buy and sell shares in companies. Each share is listed on what's called an exchange. But how do shares come about? Companies provide investors the chance to support what they're doing with cash. This allows the company the chance to grow and the investor to make money on the back of this success. When you invest in a company, you become a shareholder. You can trade this share in the company with anyone else who wishes to purchase it from you. Even though the original price of each share is determined by the company itself. From thereon, the price of each share is influenced by a number of factors from the strength of the overall economy to the financial health of the company. Depending on these factors, the price of the company will rise and fall in the stock market. 3. How Much Can I Make by Investing? This is the real reason why people start investing in stocks. They want to make money. But there's no simple answer to the question of how much you can make. But it's worth pointing out that in the current economic climate, savings rates are actually at an all-time low. This means that many people are searching for alternative means of making money. How much you can make by investing is also contingent on how bigger risk you can afford to take. The more you're willing to risk, the higher the potential of your returns. 4. How Much to Invest? So many people spend many years of their lives thinking that when they finally have some spare cash, they'll invest it. But this is actually the wrong way to look at investments. You don't need piles of cash to start investing. By investing a little amount regularly, you can build up your returns over time. It's important not to invest everything you've got in a single venture. "Not to put too many eggs in one basket" is excellent advice for any wanna-be investor. Together with traditional ways of investing, you should also look to put some money in alternative investments. You have to be able to afford to lose the money you're thinking of investing. If there's a stock market crash you could lose everything you've invested overnight. You should also make sure you can afford to put money into a share over a minimum of 5 years. You need to be able to plow through the bumps along the way to make anything in the long run. 5. What's a Share? Let's investigate a little further what a share actually is. It's a unit of value of a company. If a company is valued at $10 million and there are 1000 shares, each share would be worth $10,000. But the shares of the company can rise or fall according to the overall value of the company. People invest in a company because they believe the company will be successful in the future. By buying shares you get the chance to share in the success or failure of the company. Along with the profit you make when the shares increase in value, as a shareholder, you usually receive dividends too. This is a payment to you by the company from the profit generated by the company. 6. What's a Fund? If you want to buy shares, you can either purchase stocks or funds. Instead of purchasing the shares from the company, you pass your money to a fund manager. The fund managers bring together the money of a number of investors and purchase shares on the stock market for you. 7. How to Start Investing? There are a number of different ways to purchase shares and funds. But most people use what's known as a platform to make purchases. You have to select which platform you want to use to make your investments. After you've done this, you can select which investments you want to make. Confused? Think of it as buying milk from the store. You have to choose which store (your platform) you want to purchase the milk. And then you need to choose which milk (your investment). You'll also be charged for your shopping bag (user fees). 8. Should I Invest? Of course, it's always good to evaluate why you're investing in a particular company. Ask yourself - is investing right for you? History shows us that people who invest in shares over savings accounts receive greater returns. But this doesn't necessarily mean that investing is for everyone. Guide to Investing: Investing can often seem confusing and scary to the uninitiated. But the truth is it's much simpler than it appears. By following our start guide to investing, you can start making informed decisions about what you want to do with your spare cash. For more blog posts on financial issues, check out our blog. Read Also: Investing In Machinery For A More Productive Business What You Must Know About ELSS Before You Invest

Major financial problems that can affect a new business

For a new business just fresh out of the concept stage, there’s a lot of excitement ahead. However, there are often troubles on the horizon, and these tend to revolve around money issues. Finance streams may be in place when the business is first created, for example, but they can quickly dry up as time goes on. It’s expensive to hire staff, and this can often push a firm well into the problem zone. Here are some ways that new businesses can get around these problems. No finance streams : When a new business first launches, it’s usually the case that there’s some form of finance behind it – at least for a short time. The entrepreneur themselves might be financing it from savings, for example, while there may also be an investor. The long-term plan is usually to have incoming cash replace this stream once it dries out – but revenues and profits don’t come overnight, and in fact, they often don’t materialize for a long time. Instead of relying on external finance providers, it often makes sense for a new business to be “bootstrapped”. Bootstrapping essentially means cutting down costs until you reach a stage where you have the funds to raise them back up. Instead of hiring an office space, for example, why not knuckle down and work hard in your spare room until you have enough – or almost enough – sustainable income to pay for a desk somewhere? It may be tough doing this sort of thing at first, but it could be the difference between business survival and failure. Staffing costs : In a bygone age of manufacturing and industry, the main cost that businesses faced was equipment. This also tended to be where companies made cutbacks when times were hard, either by downsizing their factories, leasing out their equipment or something similar. However, for many modern American businesses, the main cost is staff. Staff members are, in general, expensive. Some, such as coders and executives, command high salaries that can quickly drain a firm’s budget. Even when a person is hired on a lower salary, there are plenty of extra considerations to take into account, which can make the hire expensive: from the additional insurance premium that a firm might need to pay on their office space to the additional computer and desk space that the staff member might need, the costs can mount up. It makes sense for many firms to hire contractors instead of as they come with far fewer financial responsibilities for the firm – and the arrangement gives both parties the flexibility to move on if needed. With umbrella companies available to manage the tax side of contractor pay, there’s no need to worry about the effect that it might have on your HR or accounting departments either. Running a new business is exhilarating in some ways, but it also comes with its problems. Finance is almost always the big one – and from large staffing costs to dried-up finance streams, there’s a lot that can go wrong. However, by focusing on finance methods such as bootstrapping and choosing contractors instead of employed workers, there are ways that you can get that profit and loss sheet under control and move towards a more sustainable financial future for your business. Read Also : Invest In A New Car, Without A Financial Liability Debunking 7 Notorious Bankruptcy Myths

Financial Plan For Your FIRST Small Business – Low Budget Plan

One of the common reasons why small businesses fail is the lack of working capital. Poor financial decision-making can be detrimental to your small business. This will not scare you or put you off the idea of starting your very first business. However, it is to convince you how important it is to draft a financial plan for your small business. The importance of predicting your financial health is not just to maintain a steady cash flow but also... Understand how lucrative your business is in the long run. How long will your business be at break-even (no profit, no loss)? When can your business start making a profit? Most importantly, what is the contingency plan of any financial hurdle? In this blog post below, we will be discussing the following: Importance of a financial plan for your small business. Elements of a financial plan for your small business. A template to create a small business plan (for any business). Importance Of A Financial Plan Here is why you should begin creating your very first-ever financial plan for your small business. 1. A Business GPS? Imagine yourself driving to a new destination without knowing where you are or in which direction you should proceed. This is what it is like to open a business without having a financial plan. A financial plan will give you a clear roadmap to your business journey, and determine how much to spend on each destination. 2. Where Is The Goal Post? We all have a vague idea of what a startup goal should be. However, getting overwhelmed is common without a clear picture. A financial plan will provide you with a clear goalpost. I am talking about tangible, measurable, and achievable goals. Whether you want to expand your business, increase profits, or reduce costs, a financial plan gives you a clear path. 3. What Ifs & Risks! It is given that your business won’t be smooth sailing forever! Businesses often face unexpected expenses. It could be something as simple as equipment breakdowns or sudden major market changes! As a business owner, being financially ready is a crucial step! A financial plan can help you set aside emergency funds, so you're prepared for these surprises. 4. A Long-Lasting Impression Want investors early on for your business? Then, it would help if you offered them a steady financial plan. Remember, lenders and investors want to see a well-thought-out financial plan before they commit their money. Therefore, having a solid plan shows them that you understand your business's financial health, its cash flow, and the potential profit opportunity. Hence, we are serious about making your business a success. 5. Improves Financial Decision-Making With a financial plan, you better understand your cash flow, revenue, and expenses. This knowledge helps you make informed decisions, like when to invest in new equipment or whether to cut costs. Important Elements Of The Financial Plan Of A Small Business Before you begin your financial planning, you should be aware of the different financial jargon for a business. 1. Cash Flow Projection This includes predicting the market, what effect your product will have on the market, and how much you can earn from it. Now, taking the potential amount you create capital expenditure for each month. The function of a cash flow projection is to ensure you have enough (at the end of the month) in terms of expansion. It is common for a business to live month by month with no profit for the first six to eight months of the business. Essentially you are establishing your business. However, if it crosses the one-year mark with just a break-evens, the following could be the reason: Your business is not making money because of the lack of demand. The expenditure is way over your income. You must start some cost-cutting methods. There is a lack of marketing, and your small business is not reaching the target audience. You do not have enough investment for the small business you are starting. Keep these points in mind when starting your cash flow! 2. Balance Sheet A balance sheet is a financial estimation of your small business’s current state. Here are some of the important items your balance sheet will have: Income & Expenditure Total owning & total owing (personal debts or small business loans). Assets that are currently under collateral. Upon reading it might sound simple. However, when it comes to a balanced business sheet, you will require a finance professional to craft one. 3. Personnel Expense This brings us to the next point in any financial plan for a small business. The personnel expense, or the amount you are spending on hired personnel. It doesn’t always have to be your employees. In fact, the number of employees for a small business will hardly reach 15 in the very first year. A personnel expense includes individuals working as consultants for the business, and the different professionals you hire to help with the internal work (e.g. Finance officer to create the balance sheet). Some of the common elements of a personnel expense are: Cost is based on the positions each professional is holding. Personal insurance plans for your workers (at least medical insurance). Expenses are spared for other professionals working externally with the business. 4. Assets The tangible assets that your small business owns: Current Assets: What the business currently owns. These include inventories, machinery & tech devices, prepaid expenses (for example, digital tools), and other office supplies. Tangible Assets: The one that physically exists under the name of your small business. Real estate (This will not include rented warehouses or offices. These will go under the expenditure section), land inventory, tangible investment (gold & bonds), and saleable merchandise. Non-Tangible Assets: These are assets that are not in a physical form. Intellectual property, pre-paid tools, investments (stocks, Cryptocurrency, mutual funds). Non-Operable Asset: Assets under your small business but from which you are not getting any income. For example, land you have an investment in but not yet open for any business-related functions. Operable Asset: Assets that your business owns currently, and that are bringing some income. For example: produced goods, factory space, warehouses, and office space. 5. Products & Services The products and services you are planning to offer will also come into the financial planning for small businesses. These include the following: The raw materials are required to create the goods. Factory costing. Warehouse costing. Transport & Drop shipping costing. Worker’s salary & insurance. Contingency management funding. (In case of any accident or unpredictable situation). The summation will give you the total cost of production. With which you can create and understand the market value of your product. This step is very important to assess the profit and loss of each item. 6. Income Projections Another crucial part of small business finance planning is prediction. This is how you can predict whether your income will have any substantial income. Here is how you can protect your business income (before starting it): Check business income projections of competitors through several data analyses. Is your small business subject matter trending in the market? What is the current market share of such companies? Are investors willing to invest in a business venture as such? In fact, check some of the Shark Tank successes, and analyze which business venture seems more profiting by investors themselves. The inflation rate of the past decade regarding the product or service you are about to sell also matters. 7. Marketing You cannot spend everything on logistics and not worry about marketing. One cannot ignore this matter, especially in today’s day and age when small businesses are reaching new milestones by a simple influencer shoutout, or social media virality! Here are some of the factors in which you will need to spend in marketing: Social media marketing tools. Influencer marketing. Small ad-films over YouTube. Website building and digital marketing (Website domain and SEO tools). 8. Risk Management No business is protected from the risks that come to every business in its lifespan. However, the contingency plan is not getting ambushed by a sudden change. Here are some of the financial risks/uncertainties your new business could face: Market Risk: The ups and downs of the current & dynamic economy. In fact, after the pandemic, things have become a little less predictable. Reputation Risk: Social media is indeed bringing customers and businesses closer. However, the downside of such connectivity is the risk of a tampered reputation, especially when audiences jump to conclusions upon hearing anything on the internet. Competition Risk: This is a common risk every business faces. When your competitors launch something new & exciting, there could be a significant shift in sales numbers for you. Environmental Risk: One good example of environmental risk that has previously impacted businesses majorly is the pandemic. Political Risks: The political scenario of your country can have a considerable effect on your business, especially in terms of export-import & business expansion. This is one of the reasons why having a financial contingency plan for managing sudden risk is one of the crucial components of a business financial plan. Business Template For A Startup As promised, we have a business template that will help you take that very first step for your startup. Financial Plan For Startup (Template) Table of Contents 1. Financial Overview: A Financial Overview will consist of a financial overview of your business’s current state. Also, please provide the key points and takeaways of the financial data that you will provide. 4. Assumptions – Market Research: This is the step for market research and predicting the business’s profit potential. 5. Break-Even Analysis: A table or graph which provides information on the number of units your business needs, and how much you need to sell to make a profit. 6. Financial Statements: This will include the following charts. - Profit & Loss (Optional if you have a startup) - Cash Flow Statement (How the monthly cash flow will look) - Balance Sheet (Monthly/Quarterly/Yearly Income & Expenditure) Elements For Your Balance Sheet The following is what your balance sheets should include based on items required: monthly, quarterly, and yearly income & expenditure. Operational Financial Plan Business Location and Facilities Technology and Equipment Key Operational Processes Supply Chain and Inventory Management Management and Organization Financial Plan Organizational Structure Key Management Team Roles and Responsibilities Hiring and Training Plan Financial Plan Start-up Costs (for new businesses like loans, downpayment; collateral, and personal investments) Revenue Projections Expense Projections Cash Flow Statement Profit and Loss Statement Break-even Analysis Funding Requirements and Strategy Funding Needed Purpose of Funds Potential Funding Sources Funding Timeline Key Risks Risk Mitigation Strategies Financial Tools to Ease Your Job In the modern age of technology, you can always lean on tools to automate some of the financial tasks. So, if you need that digital assistance when Begin Your Journey! This is a sign for you to begin your journey as a first-time business owner. Yes, it is overwhelming, and yes it can be intimidating (hence the long procrastinating period!). Creating a financial plan for even a startup can be intimidating. Here is how you can make this journey a little easier. Start with defining your business first. The executive plan is a must. You should know what your business is all about. Then, move through the basic income and expenditures. Take help from professionals in tax advice and create a detailed balance sheet. Finally, consider seeing your whole financial plan in a timely manner. It is important to take one step at a time. Hopefully, we can give you enough answers about a business financial plan. How is your journey going? Please let us know in the comment section below. Read Also: Tax Implications For Independent Event Planners Use Online Event Payment To Streamline Your Payment Process Everything you Need to Know About Term Insurance Plan Premium Financial Planning For Contractors: Ensuring Project Viability

5 Smart Ways to Boost your Credit Score

Check Your Credit Reports

Pay your Bills on Time

Eliminate Credit Card Balances

Don’t Apply for a New Credit

Keep your Old Accounts Open

How to Get an Auto Loan at a Low Interest Rate

Tips to Lower Your Insurance Costs

Content Rally

Content Rally wrapped around an online publication where you can publish your own intellectuals. It is a publishing platform designed to make great stories by content creators. This is your era, your place to be online. So come forward share your views, thoughts and ideas via Content Rally.

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Check Your Credit Reports

Pay your Bills on Time

Eliminate Credit Card Balances

Don’t Apply for a New Credit

Keep your Old Accounts Open

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How to Get an Auto Loan at a Low Interest Rate

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Content Rally wrapped around an online publication where you can publish your own intellectuals. It is a publishing platform designed to make great stories by content creators. This is your era, your place to be online. So come forward share your views, thoughts and ideas via Content Rally.

Leave a Reply

Popular

Follow Us

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