Your credit score is everything these days. Maybe you are just one of those individuals that would rather not know what is on your credit report. Let's assume you just got laid off, and now you have to find a job. Guess what employers are doing now, they are pulling your credit report to determine your risk. Typically people with good credit are not going to steal; they seem to have their life in order, etc......according to corporate companies. So if you have had some bumps and bruises on your credit report this is the time to get a recent copy of your free credit score report and start working on your credit. Here are some pointers on what is needed to increase your FICO score.

Secured Credit Cards

If you don't have any credit and your current credit report is littered with collections and charge offs, you will need to establish new credit. Yes I know credit cards are evil, but they are a necessary evil these days. I would recommend getting some secured credit cards with Orchard Bank. They are a credit card bank with low fees, and typically require a $200.00 deposit into there account to secure the card. This process will get some good revolving credit reporting to all 3 credit bureaus on your behalf. Typically you need a couple of credit cards reporting. So go a head and get a few different secured credit cards. Since authorized user accounts don't help anymore, secured credit cards are the quickest and most reliable way to get your credit established or re-established.

Collections Accounts

There is a common misconception that collection accounts can be removed even though you owe them money. A collection account will not go away until the account is set to expire, which is 7 years from the collection date. That is a long time to wait for something to disappear on your credit report. The fastest way to get your scores up with collections is to pay off the newest collections first. I guarantee you once the account is updated from a balanced being owed to "paid in full" or settled, your scores will go up. Once you pay off the collections make sure you get letters from the collection companies stating what was done, either paid in full or settled on. After about 60 days re-pull a copy of your credit report with scores and make sure they updated with the credit bureaus.

Quick Credit Fixes

Folks there are no quick fixes to credit repair, Fair Isaac shows that in their FICO® score model that time is also part of the credit scoring recipe. Yes there are some tricks I know that will get your credit sores up, but time is also a factor as well. The main key is to make sure you don't have late payments while you are doing this entire process, make sure nothing goes to collection. The banking industry will never be same again because of the amount of mortgage foreclosures. I guarantee you the lending industry is tightening so much currently that families with good credit could have problems getting loans. So make sure it's not too late, if you are getting ready to make a big purchase like a new home for the family, make sure your credit is in line with today's times. One thing I know for sure, and that is the lending institutions are going to get even tougher. So instead of getting told NO, get told YES.