Controlling Your Credit Score

Many people today are looking for the "quick fix" to raise their credit scores. One can find an enormous amount of list articles online about this topic. While some of those are helpful in and of themselves, what if I presented you with a different way of controlling your credit score? Would you be interested? To start with, what I propose is not an easy route. It involves discipline, practice, and intentionality. If you are ready for this, please read on. What many, if not all, of the online lists looking to help you raise your credit score fail to mention is what is driving your credit card use. Many times it can be an impulse purchase that is easy because swiping a card isn't as hard as paying real cash. You feel it differently. This can be how many people find themselves in overwhelming credit card debt before they know it. Instead, what if you planned the purchases that went on the card and set an internal limit to the amount you spend? That should be beneficial in both helping to keep the debt amount manageable but also ensure you have the money to pay the card off each and every month. How much stress would that relieve from you if you knew that you could pay off the card in full each and every month? To accomplish this, the driving force behind your spending decisions would be your own spending plan for the month. That's right, your budget! For example, let's say you budget $750 for groceries for this month. Since your budget should be based on your income, you know you have that money to spend. If you are able to keep your spending in check in your other categories and in the food budget, then you know you can pay the credit card bill at the end of the month! You can extend this practice to gas purchases, personal shopping, utilities, and other expenses. The goal is to intentionally plan what you will spend, stick to that limit, then you can pay your card balance in full, worry free! The next time you start searching online for yet another tip on how to raise or build your credit score, I encourage you to try something new. Build new habits from the ground up. Use your budget to drive your spending decisions, not your impulses. After some time, I think you will be amazed at the results.