I have been talking about how I’ve raised my Credit score from 420 to 700 for years now and I’m pretty sure you are tired of me talking about it and not showing you how I did it. Well today I’m sharing exactly what I did to clean my credit and raised my credit score.

But before we dive in, my credit score was low from being young, dumb and broke. I had stupid payday loans, store cards, auto repossesions, past due bills. There were many options available to help me with my credit like credit repair companies but they they all cost and I was BROKE.

HOW I RAISED MY CREDIT SCORE FROM 420 TO 700

here’s what I did… and I also shared why I went with Capital One for my first credit card.

Get copies of all my credit reports. Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.

My credit was so bad I never wanted to even look at my own credit. So the first thing I did was get a copy of my credit report. I signed up for Credit Karma for my Equifax and TransUnion reports because Credit Karma is FREE. And for Experian because Experian if free unless you want to see ALL three reports.

Dispute Errors. After obtaining my credit reports, I looked for any negative information, even if it’s true. Almost EVERYONE everyone has at least one error on their credit report.

I reviewed every single thing on each report and look for anything that looked crazy. And OMG, my credit was a MESS. I had one hospital bill that was being reported 5x, yes FIVE DIFFERENT times. I had things I settled on but back on my credit. Some SUPER OLD ACCOUNTS. So I made a list of everything I wanted to dispute.

 Dispute all the negative items. After I disputed anything that looked crazy and OLD I waited a few months because the creditors has 30 days to respond and if they don’t the debt MUST be removed from my credit.

Even though I did dispute everything directy from the credit bureau websites I would suggest that All disputed items should be documented in writing. There are many form letters online that you can use for your disputes. You pretty much just want to say that you don’t agree with the items and you want them to be removed.

Remember, the credit bureau has 30 days to communicate with the creditor and verify the accuracy of the item or the accounts must be removed from your credit report. 

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Settlements and payment plans. I waited about 6 months or so after the disputes and verified any remaining accounts. Based on the amount of the debt I settled and or agreed on a payment plan. If settled it’s extremely important to request a settlement letter because the credit can sell the remaining balance to a different creditor.

Applied for my first credit card. I would say I waited about a year or before I applied for my first Capital One credit card and my credit limit was $300!!! I went with Capital One because I read a lot of good reviews on Capital One being a great credit builder credit card.

A little over 3 years later I have raised my credit score from 420 to 700, I have a 100% on time payment history, I have 3 credit cards, 2 personal and one business. I bought my first HOUSE, I bought a car, I’m buying my dream car this year, I’m buying my first investment property.

And this year I will be leveraging the HECK out of my credit!!

shop my look

Because with banging credit you can buy WHATEVER you want with your Capital One Credit Card 😉 So let’s shop my look, my bodysuit is from my Black Wealth Shop and my pants are from Ikonik Boutique

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