• Home
  • Products
    • 111 Ways to Save
    • Thrive in Five: Take Charge of Your Finances In 5 Minutes A Day
    • Cash, Credit, and Your Finances: The Teen Years
  • Resources
  • Speaker Info
    • Adult
    • School Age
    • Speaking Engagements
  • About Jill Russo Foster
  • Press/Media Kit
    • Full Media Kit
    • Bio
    • Photos
    • TV Appearances
    • Print Appearances
    • Radio / Podcast Appearances
    • Speaking Engagements
    • Press Releases
  • Contact Jill

Jill Russo Foster

Tips for Successful Personal Finances

  • Events
  • Every Day Finances
    • Banking
    • Budget Planning
    • Family Finances
    • Personal Finance
    • Reducing Expenses
    • Shopping Tips
    • Teenagers and Money
  • Protecting Your Home
    • Disaster Preparedness
    • Energy Efficiency
  • Tax Tips
    • Charitable Giving
  • Manage Your Credit & Identity
    • Debt Management
    • Mortgage Tips
    • Get Great Credit
      • Loans
      • Credit Card Act of 2009
      • Credit Management
      • Credit Report
      • Credit Report Reminder
    • Identity Theft & Fraud
      • Identity Theft
      • Fraud Alert
  • Organization & Planning
    • Organizing Your Space
    • Organizing Your Time
    • Vacation Planning
      • Travel Tips
    • Plan for the Future
      • Financial Goals
      • Marriage and Finances
      • Retirement Planning

Understand Your Credit

Let’s talk about where your credit is today.  Those of you on my newsletter list should have recently pulled your January credit report.  What are you hoping to accomplish?  Do you want better credit?  Do you want to be able to get financing when you need it at a reasonable interest rate?  You can do this and it is possible.  If your credit isn’t where you want it to be, you can change it.  There’s no magic want and it can’t be done overnight (and you can pay someone to improve your score), but you can see improvements in a relatively short amount of timchoicese.

Here are some credit score tips:

  • Always pay at your bills on time.  If you don’t have the money to pay your bill when it’s due, make at least the minimum payment required, so as not to be late.  If it’s the timing that is an issue, change the due date.  Many companies will do this very easily.
  • Pay down your debt.  Reduce the total amount your owe on credit.  Make a plan to pay it down and stick to it.
  • Watch your spending.  If you can’t afford something, determine is it a need or a want.  Needs are must have such as food, clothing, shelter.  Wants are your desires, you can live without but would be really nice to have, but maybe you need to set a goal to get that want in the future.

All this over time will improve your credit and thereore credit score.  The thing to remember is the newer credit counts more than item from the past.  So there is light at the end of the tunnel.

 

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Contact Jill:

Email: Jill@JillRussoFoster.com or use this form.

Looking for something?

Follow Jill Russo Foster’s board Money on Pinterest.

Copyright © 2025 Jill Russo Foster