By Jeanine Skowronski
Repairing a shoddy credit report requires time, but there are few steps you can take to expedite the process. Here's what to do if you're hoping to give your score a boost by Labor Day.
Pay down credit card debt.
One of the only surefire ways to give your credit score a quick boost is to pay down any existing debt you may be carrying on a credit card. This will have an immediate (and positive) impact on your credit utilization ratio, which essentially involves how much credit you are using versus how much is actually available to you.
Keep in mind, the move will only work if you pay down the debt then refrain from running up a big balance on the card. Issuers report current balances along with your payment status on a monthly basis so it won't take long for these new charges to catch up to you.
Check your credit report.
Errors on credit reports are actually more common than you may think so combing over your credit report can benefit your score if it is indeed being pulled down by someone else's negative information. If it isn't, the exercise can be instrumental in illustrating what you need to do to improve your creditworthiness. Most versions of reports point out what items are particularly detrimental to the person's score.
Everyone is entitled to a free credit report from one of the major bureaus -- Experian, Equifax or TransUnion -- each year, which can be obtained by visiting www.annualcreditreport.com. You can also monitor your score for free and get advice on what might be pulling your score down with the Credit Report Card.
Commit yourself to making all your payments on time.
A first missed payment can cause a great credit score to fall 100 points or more. The good news is, so long as you don't follow up this misstep with an even bigger one, you won't feel the full effect for the entire seven years it takes the line item to age off your credit report. Begin to undo the damage by getting current on your payments and re-committing yourself to making all future ones on time.
To avoid unconsciously missing a due date, enroll in auto-pay by linking your credit card and debit card accounts. You also might be able to do enroll for these options via your issuer's iPad or mobile app.
This article originally appeared on Credit.com. Jeanine Skowronski is a contributing writer to Credit.com.