How Can I Fix Mistakes and Improve My Credit Score?

You've bravely accessed your credit report.

Maybe you saw something that wasn't right, or perhaps your credit score

isn't where you hoped it would be.

Does seeing that feel discouraging like it's set in stone, what if

you could actually take steps to clean up and improve it?

Well, stick with me today because I'm gonna share exactly

how to make that happen.

Hey there.

Welcome back to your Daily Financially Confident Christian.

I'm Ralph and I'm genuinely encouraged by your willingness

to tackle some intimidating topics like your credit report.

This is the show that helps you answer that question, how can I become a

financially confident Christian?

And taking that step yesterday to access your credit report was fantastic Progress

on your journey through our series, dealing with the Stress of Money Worries.

Now, today we're gonna move from just looking at your credit report to

actively managing it because what if there are some errors hurting you or

what if your score needs some work?

You're not powerless.

So let's address the question.

How can I fix mistakes on my credit report and more importantly,

actively improve my credit score?

Now, perhaps you've reviewed your credit report, you spotted something that

wasn't accurate, an account you don't recognize, a late payment, you know you

made on time or an incorrect balance.

Finding errors that unfairly hurt your credit is a major struggle.

It just feels unjust.

It adds stress because it impacts your ability to get favorable

terms on loans or even get approved for things in the first place.

On top of that, if your score is low, it can feel like this barrier to financial

progress, leaving you feeling stuck and leaving you feeling frustrated.

Not knowing the steps to dispute errors or the key actions that actually do

improve a score adds to that difficulty and can make you feel hopeless about

improving your financial reputation.

But here's the thing.

Your credit report is a record of your financial history with

credit and sometimes, and hear me on this, mistakes happen.

Maintaining the accuracy of that record and working to improve it is part of

your responsible stewardship journey, and seeking to live with integrity and

a good reputation is so very important.

And connect this to the biblical principles of truthfulness and

diligence, and we talked about this yesterday and seeking a good name.

The book of Proverbs, chapter 10 verse nine says this, whoever walks in

integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out.

And let's keep ourselves in the book of Proverbs, chapter 22.

Verse one.

Reminds us a good name is more desirable than great riches.

And like I mentioned yesterday, While our ultimate identity is in Christ.

Managing our earthly reputation, including our financial one,

with integrity and diligence.

It's wise, stewardship and actively working to fix errors ensures that

the record reflects the truth of the situation, and consistently

practicing habits that build a credit score, like paying bills off on time,

it demonstrates faithfulness in your commitments.

It's a way of building a diligent and truthful steward

of your financial reputation.

Which in the end reflects well and can open doors for

wise financial opportunities.

Trust in God to honor your efforts towards integrity.

So what can we do?

How do you take control of your credit report and your credit

score and fix mistakes and build a stronger financial reputation?

Well, I've got the answer.

The single essential solution is to take intentional steps to dispute any

inaccuracies that you find on your credit report, and then consistently focus on

the key financial habits that have the biggest impact on your credit score.

And we're gonna talk about those on tomorrow's show.

But this is truly proactive management of your credit report and score.

So, okay, here's your one action step for today, specifically focused on

cleaning up and improving your credit.

I want you to dispute just one error.

Now, this is assuming that you found one, but I want you to dispute one error.

If you found an error on your credit report that you pulled, I want

you to gather that documentation that proves that the error.

I want you to grab things like your bank statement, showing an on time payment.

So that you can prove this.

And then what you're gonna do is go to the website of the Credit

bureau , whose report had the error, and I mentioned those yesterday.

That's Experian, Equifax, or TransUnion.

Or again, if you didn't pull your credit report, I'm gonna encourage you to go back

and listen to yesterday's episode, but you can go to annual credit report.com.

Now, once you've done that, you've looked at your credit, maybe you see some errors.

Go to those websites for each of those credit bureaus and

look for their dispute process.

It's usually an online form or they give you the instructions

that you can mail in a letter.

Now, here's the thing you need to remember.

I. You've got to follow their instructions precisely to dispute

one specific error that you found.

Now, maybe you're not somebody who found an error, that's fantastic, but if

you did, then this is the thing to do.

And then once you do that, you've got to be patient and

you've got to be consistent.

See.

You've got to understand that improving a credit score takes time and it

takes consistent, positive behavior.

So I don't want you to get discouraged if you don't see huge jumps immediately.

Just stick to those habits, and like I said, tomorrow we're gonna talk about

three things that you can do right away to improve your credit situation.

Well, let's take a moment to discuss why this helps, because I think

it's so important to understand the why behind what we're doing.

This single action, it directly fights that struggle of having your financial

reputation unfairly impacted by errors or limited by a low credit score.

See, when you dispute these errors, it ensures accuracy and focusing on

consistent on-time payments and keeping those low balances are the most powerful

ways to build a healthier credit score.

And like I said, over time, and this empowers you to access better

financial products in the future, like lower interest rates on

loans, which can save you money.

And in the end, it's the whole point of today's show, reduce that

long-term financial stress on you.

Well, let's pray together now.

Father God, thank you for giving us the wisdom and the diligence, Lord,

to manage our financial affairs.

And we confess that

finding errors or having a low credit score can feel

discouraging and feel limiting.

Please grant us perseverance and grant us clarity as we dispute

any inaccuracies on our report.

And Lord, just grant us patience in the process, strengthen our discipline

to maintain habits that build a good credit score and for integrity

in all of our financial dealings.

And we ask this with confidence in Jesus' name, Amen.

Taking action on your credit report is empowering and it contributes

to your overall financial health and your overall financial piece.

It's an act of diligence, so keep up the good work and if managing your credit

report feels like a challenge you're ready for, please do me a favor and

share this episode with somebody else.

You may have friends who also need to understand their credit, and this

show can be a great resource for them.

You can find resources and connect with our show at our website that's financially

confident christian.com, and I've got a special gift for you on your journey.

For the first 100 listeners who go to the website, financially confident

christian.com/master, I'm gonna give you a free copy of my book.

It's called Mastering Your Finances.

Now, this is a quick, powerful read, designed as a starting

point to help you break that cycle of financial shame and step.

Into confidence.

Again, that's at financially confident christian.com/master

and go get your free copy today.

Now, tomorrow we're gonna talk about three quick ways to instantly

improve your credit score.

You don't wanna miss it, so make sure you join me and let's all go out

there and be financially confident.

Christians, you can do this.

I have confidence in you.

Have confidence in yourself.

Stay financially savvy.

God bless you, and you have a great day today.

I.