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How Can I Fix Mistakes and Improve My Credit Score? · Becoming Financially Confident

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  Ralph: You've bravely accessed your credit report.
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  Maybe you saw something that wasn't right, or perhaps your credit score
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  isn't where you hoped it would be.
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  Does seeing that feel discouraging like it's set in stone, what if
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  you could actually take steps to clean up and improve it?
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  Well, stick with me today because I'm gonna share exactly
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  how to make that happen.
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  Hey there.
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  Welcome back to your Daily Financially Confident Christian.
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  I'm Ralph and I'm genuinely encouraged by your willingness
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  to tackle some intimidating topics like your credit report.
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  This is the show that helps you answer that question, how can I become a
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  financially confident Christian?
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  And taking that step yesterday to access your credit report was fantastic Progress
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  on your journey through our series, dealing with the Stress of Money Worries.
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  Now, today we're gonna move from just looking at your credit report to
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  actively managing it because what if there are some errors hurting you or
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  what if your score needs some work?
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  You're not powerless.
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  So let's address the question.
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  How can I fix mistakes on my credit report and more importantly,
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  actively improve my credit score?
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  Now, perhaps you've reviewed your credit report, you spotted something that
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  wasn't accurate, an account you don't recognize, a late payment, you know you
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  made on time or an incorrect balance.
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  Finding errors that unfairly hurt your credit is a major struggle.
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  It just feels unjust.
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  It adds stress because it impacts your ability to get favorable
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  terms on loans or even get approved for things in the first place.
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  On top of that, if your score is low, it can feel like this barrier to financial
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  progress, leaving you feeling stuck and leaving you feeling frustrated.
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  Not knowing the steps to dispute errors or the key actions that actually do
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  improve a score adds to that difficulty and can make you feel hopeless about
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  improving your financial reputation.
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  But here's the thing.
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  Your credit report is a record of your financial history with
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  credit and sometimes, and hear me on this, mistakes happen.
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  Maintaining the accuracy of that record and working to improve it is part of
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  your responsible stewardship journey, and seeking to live with integrity and
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  a good reputation is so very important.
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  And connect this to the biblical principles of truthfulness and
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  diligence, and we talked about this yesterday and seeking a good name.
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  The book of Proverbs, chapter 10 verse nine says this, whoever walks in
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  integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out.
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  And let's keep ourselves in the book of Proverbs, chapter 22.
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  Verse one.
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  Reminds us a good name is more desirable than great riches.
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  And like I mentioned yesterday, While our ultimate identity is in Christ.
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  Managing our earthly reputation, including our financial one,
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  with integrity and diligence.
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  It's wise, stewardship and actively working to fix errors ensures that
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  the record reflects the truth of the situation, and consistently
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  practicing habits that build a credit score, like paying bills off on time,
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  it demonstrates faithfulness in your commitments.
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  It's a way of building a diligent and truthful steward
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  of your financial reputation.
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  Which in the end reflects well and can open doors for
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  wise financial opportunities.
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  Trust in God to honor your efforts towards integrity.
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  So what can we do?
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  How do you take control of your credit report and your credit
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  score and fix mistakes and build a stronger financial reputation?
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  Well, I've got the answer.
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  The single essential solution is to take intentional steps to dispute any
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  inaccuracies that you find on your credit report, and then consistently focus on
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  the key financial habits that have the biggest impact on your credit score.
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  And we're gonna talk about those on tomorrow's show.
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  But this is truly proactive management of your credit report and score.
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  So, okay, here's your one action step for today, specifically focused on
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  cleaning up and improving your credit.
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  I want you to dispute just one error.
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  Now, this is assuming that you found one, but I want you to dispute one error.
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  If you found an error on your credit report that you pulled, I want
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  you to gather that documentation that proves that the error.
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  I want you to grab things like your bank statement, showing an on time payment.
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  So that you can prove this.
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  And then what you're gonna do is go to the website of the Credit
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  bureau , whose report had the error, and I mentioned those yesterday.
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  That's Experian, Equifax, or TransUnion.
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  Or again, if you didn't pull your credit report, I'm gonna encourage you to go back
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  and listen to yesterday's episode, but you can go to annual credit report.com.
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  Now, once you've done that, you've looked at your credit, maybe you see some errors.
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  Go to those websites for each of those credit bureaus and
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  look for their dispute process.
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  It's usually an online form or they give you the instructions
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  that you can mail in a letter.
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  Now, here's the thing you need to remember.
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  I. You've got to follow their instructions precisely to dispute
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  one specific error that you found.
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  Now, maybe you're not somebody who found an error, that's fantastic, but if
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  you did, then this is the thing to do.
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  And then once you do that, you've got to be patient and
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  you've got to be consistent.
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  See.
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  You've got to understand that improving a credit score takes time and it
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  takes consistent, positive behavior.
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  So I don't want you to get discouraged if you don't see huge jumps immediately.
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  Just stick to those habits, and like I said, tomorrow we're gonna talk about
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  three things that you can do right away to improve your credit situation.
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  Well, let's take a moment to discuss why this helps, because I think
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  it's so important to understand the why behind what we're doing.
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  This single action, it directly fights that struggle of having your financial
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  reputation unfairly impacted by errors or limited by a low credit score.
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  See, when you dispute these errors, it ensures accuracy and focusing on
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  consistent on-time payments and keeping those low balances are the most powerful
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  ways to build a healthier credit score.
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  And like I said, over time, and this empowers you to access better
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  financial products in the future, like lower interest rates on
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  loans, which can save you money.
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  And in the end, it's the whole point of today's show, reduce that
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  long-term financial stress on you.
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  Well, let's pray together now.
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  Father God, thank you for giving us the wisdom and the diligence, Lord,
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  to manage our financial affairs.
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  And we confess that
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  finding errors or having a low credit score can feel
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  discouraging and feel limiting.
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  Please grant us perseverance and grant us clarity as we dispute
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  any inaccuracies on our report.
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  And Lord, just grant us patience in the process, strengthen our discipline
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  to maintain habits that build a good credit score and for integrity
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  in all of our financial dealings.
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  And we ask this with confidence in Jesus' name, Amen.
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  Taking action on your credit report is empowering and it contributes
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  to your overall financial health and your overall financial piece.
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  It's an act of diligence, so keep up the good work and if managing your credit
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  report feels like a challenge you're ready for, please do me a favor and
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  share this episode with somebody else.
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  You may have friends who also need to understand their credit, and this
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  show can be a great resource for them.
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  You can find resources and connect with our show at our website that's financially
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  confident christian.com, and I've got a special gift for you on your journey.
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  For the first 100 listeners who go to the website, financially confident
• 7:57
  christian.com/master, I'm gonna give you a free copy of my book.
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  It's called Mastering Your Finances.
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  Now, this is a quick, powerful read, designed as a starting
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  point to help you break that cycle of financial shame and step.
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  Into confidence.
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  Again, that's at financially confident christian.com/master
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  and go get your free copy today.
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  Now, tomorrow we're gonna talk about three quick ways to instantly
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  improve your credit score.
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  You don't wanna miss it, so make sure you join me and let's all go out
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  there and be financially confident.
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  Christians, you can do this.
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  I have confidence in you.
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  Have confidence in yourself.
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  Stay financially savvy.
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  God bless you, and you have a great day today.
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  I.