Millions of Americans will start seeing a little more money on their paycheck over the course of the next month or so as the effects of the new tax reform act, and the lower tax rate, trickle down to those of us who need it the most.
But have you given any thought to what you’ll actually do with the extra money? Granted, we all love the idea of extra money each month, but if you’ve managed without it up to this point, why not put that money to work improving your credit score? That’s right, that extra money, even if it’s just a small amount can help you improve your credit score.
How can a few extra dollars a week help you to raise your credit score, you wonder? Well, there are a couple of different ways that you can use that little windfall to your benefit.
- Put the extra toward the payments on any credit cards that you are carrying balances on. That way, you’ll pay off the balance sooner, save money on interest, and your available credit will increase with every payment that you make.
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If you don’t have credit cards, you can use the money to actually open a secured credit card account. Then you simply “pay” the extra to the credit card company each month, thereby building up the security deposit and establishing an amount of “Available Credit.” This will give you “Available Credit” on your credit report and the regular “payments” to your credit card company will help you to establish (or re-establish) your payment history.
Here are some of the best secured credit card offers available now: