A good credit history is everything in this world.  Its going to determine your mortgage rates, your auto loan rates, and so much more.  Don’t let any of those big wig radio talk show hosts fool you when they say that you don’t need credit.  Try not having it and let me know how it works out for you!

Credit works for a lot of people.  As long as you’re disciplined and you know how to spend it like money, rather than a plastic card, you shouldn’t have a problem building up your credit.

I wanted to give you 5 pointers that have worked great for me over the years.  Granted, my score has gone up and down, but what I have found out is by following these tips, I was able to raise my score significantly over the past 6 – 12 months.

1.  Treat it like cash: Your credit card isn’t a plastic monopoly card where you can go out and swipe, swipe, and swipe.  It just doesn’t work this way.  If you don’t pay attention to your bills, you’re going to be in for a shock when your statement arrives in the mailbox.

2.  Limit yourself to one card: What I had found out is that if I only have one credit card in my wallet, its a lot easier to keep track of my expenses, rather than use 4-5 cards.  Once you start using more than one card, its going to be a lot more harder to track it.

3.  Always pay in full: I can’t stress this one enough.  When you get your credit card balance, you’re going to want to make sure that you pay off your balance in full.  By doing so, you’re going to keep your debt levels down, as well as your interest rates, since you’re not going to have to pay them.

4.  Never pay late: Most credit cards are pretty easy going with their minimum payments.  What you’re going to find out is that if you pay late, it’s going to ding your score pretty bad.  If you can, always make an attempt to pay your cards minimum, rather than nothing at all.

5.  Give it time: Use your card from time to time, but make sure that you’re following the 4 rules above.  Its going to take time to see your score rise and its definitely not going to happen overnight.  Instead of  being impatient and loading up your cards, you just want to sit back and wait 6 – 12 months.

Its not that hard to build your score, trust me.  Just do all the good things, rather than the bad and you should be just fine.  By following these 5 tips, you should be able to get yourself on the right track.