Improving your credit score is a popular target, as it has plenty of benefits, such as: 

• Giving you lower interest rates
• Allowing you to borrow more 
• Making it easier to rent
• More chance of lending acceptance

When setting a new goal like increasing your credit score, it’s always a good idea to place a specific timeframe on it, as it gives you more focus and motivation. Of course, this isn’t something you can do overnight. You need to give at least a few months (but preferably a year or more) to the task, so that you can see a genuine improvement. 

That’s why, in this guide, you will learn specifically how to improve your credit score in a year. If you follow these steps, you will hopefully see a real rise in the score 12 months from now. 

Understand Your Debts

The first thing you should do is have complete control over your debts. That doesn’t mean you have to pay them all off quickly, but instead it means knowing exactly what you owe and putting an action plan into place. 

If that sounds like a distant dream, just know there are experts out there who can help you. Companies like Freedom Debt Relief offer specialized plans where you can pay less debt overall while getting out of it faster. You’ll be put on a plan over several years where you will regularly make payments to get out of debt. It’ll give you a clear vision of when you’ll be debt-free. 

Keep in mind that your credit rating may take a hit when using a program like this. However, if your credit rating has already taken a hit due to missed payments and overdue debts, then this process isn’t going to make it much worse. From there, your credit rating is likely to be better by making these negotiated payments than by not paying altogether. It’s better to get out of debt than to let it get worse. 

Dispute Any Errors

Check your credit report and locate any errors. There’s a chance that your record shows incorrect later payments, for example, or debts that are from more than 7 years ago. By disputing them, they could be taken off your record, leaving you with a higher score. 

Automate Your Payments

Don’t give your credit score the chance to drop because of a single missed payment. To increase it in the next year, automate your payments now so you never miss a single one. It’s really easy to do, and you can make sure you pay a few days before a payment deadline to be absolutely sure you never miss one. 

Reduce Your Credit Card Use

You need to look into your credit utilization ratio. If it’s above 30%, that could be negatively impacting your score. Over the next year, then, aim to reduce this ratio to 30%, but preferably under, for a faster improvement on your rating. 

Raise Your Credit Limit

It might seem counterintuitive, but there’s a method that works here. By asking your credit card companies to increase your credit limit, without spending any more, you will reduce your utilization ratio. As such, it will boost your score. Over a year, this can have a significantly positive impact.