Drive-up meals, next-day service, and quick fixes; in our culture of impatience, we like things to happen quickly. The same attitude is common when it comes to improving our credit scores. We know it's important to have as high a score as possible and that when practiced over a long enough time period, using credit responsibly will result in a good credit rating. But what if you want results sooner than that? If you're searching for a simple way you may be able to increase your score by a few points, here are three tricks of the trade:

1. Make payments on your credit cards just before the reporting date to show the lowest balances. To find out the best date to make a payment, your credit report should show when your creditors are submitting account updates to the credit bureaus. When you find out this date, make it a point to pay your credit cards 3 to 5 days prior to when the accounts get reported. Your reports will then reflect the lower outstanding balance,instead of the balance after your last payment plus new charges added since the payment, giving your credit score a little boost.


2. Use old credit cards every once in a while. have a few older cards that were used when purchasing that new electronics equipment, or a department store card you opened to get an extra 25 percent off your purchase. Take those cards out now and then and use them for small purchases that you will be able to easily pay off the next month. These old accounts will show activity again
   (positive activity because you paid them off), and that will help out your credit rating.


3. Available credit is good, so keep your utilization rates at about 30 or less across all of your cards. For example, if your credit limit is $10,000, maintain a balance below $3,300. Furthermore, 3 cards with a $3,000 balance on each is better than one card with a $9,000 balance and two cards with a zero balance; same total balance, but better credit score. Although common sense tells you it shouldn't matter, you will need to learn to play the game to achieve the best score.

A few quick fixes are great, but they are not going to be enough to restore a low credit score. If you are looking to raise a low credit score by more than a few points, in less time than it would take for it to do so on its own, you'll need to look beyond simple fixes. Depending on your credit situation, raising your credit score may require disputing questionable negative items on your credit reports, paying down high account balances, diversifying your credit usage, reorganizing your credit accounts, or a combination of all the above.

Solving credit score problems requires more than quick fixes. It takes time and perseverance to clean up your credit reports. It will be worth it in the end, and in a society where instant gratification is expected, credit repair proves that there are things worth working for.