Building Credit References

Hi! I love the site – I’m learning a lot. I have a quick question: I looking to improve my 550 over the course of the next 1-2 years. I have a lot of old (and some bad) items on my report, and I don’t have any recent items. I just got an apartment, electricity, water & a cell phone in my name. Will any of these count as recent tradelines reported to the bureaus? If not is there a way to get these  payments reported to the credit bureaus? Thanks in advance!

Kisha

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Hi Kisha,

Rent builds credit and the trades that you’ve listed are considered alternative tradelines.  Secured credit cards are an excellent way to establish credit references that impact the FICO score.  Keep in mind there is an advantage to having bad credit when it comes to debt settlement.

Thanks for the questions and welcome to the site!

Paul