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Sometimes it feels like financial stability comes down to good luck or bad luck. Whether your job cuts back your hours or the interest rate on your credit card increases, sometimes bad financial luck is out of your hands.
But this Saint Patrick's Day, make your own luck with some of these financial moves.
1. Improve Your Credit to Begin Building Wealth
Having good credit can save you money, which is an important step to building wealth. Understanding what makes a good credit score may seem complicated, but having a good score isn't random luck. It's built by a pattern of positive credit-related behaviors, like:
- Paying your bills on time
- Keeping your credit utilization low
- Having a lengthy credit history
- Not taking too much new credit
- Maintaining a good mix of credit, like loans and credit cards
When you check your credit report and credit score, you can see where you've been doing well with these behaviors and where you could improve. If your score is not quite where you want it to be, use this information as motivation to fine-tune your financial behaviors, and you'll hopefully see an increased credit score soon.
2. Boost Your Credit Over the Rainbow
You may be able to pump up your credit score by using Experian Boost®ø. Experian Boost is a feature that gives you credit for bills you already pay, like your cellphone, electricity, some streaming services and even your eligible rent.
When you use Boost, it will review the bank account(s) you use to pay bills to find payments that could help boost your credit score. Once Boost identifies potential bill payment histories that can be added, you'll approve each bill you'd like to add.
When you use Boost to add these accounts to your credit report, your score may go up in just minutes.
3. Stop Being Tricked Out of Your Money and Negotiate Your Bills
Sometimes your monthly bills can feel like you've been hoodwinked out of your money. But negotiating bills can be intimidating. A bill negotiator like Experian BillFixer™ can do the work for you so you can enjoy more savings without hassle.
Experian BillFixer is a feature that pairs you with expert bill negotiators. They'll contact your service providers on your behalf to negotiate your bills, so you can save money without spending your whole day on the phone with the cable company.
To use Experian BillFixer, submit copies of your bills through your Experian account. Negotiators will look for promotional rates, customer loyalty discounts, additional credits and special packages to try to bring down your bill.
You'll keep 100% of your negotiated savings. Experian BillFixer is offered as part of the Experian CreditWorksSM Premium membership, which costs $24.99 per month. You can get a free seven-day trial to see what savings may be out there.
Some billing departments are as tricky as leprechauns, but you can outsmart them with experienced negotiators on your side.
4. Make Your Own Pot of Gold With Automation
Out of sight, out of mind automated savings can make money stack up without a second thought. Consider setting up a secondary savings account, perhaps a high-yield savings account, to use with automation.
Set your bank account to automatically deposit a set amount into this secondary savings account when you get your paycheck (or see if your employer's payroll department will do it for you). Don't check it often. When you do, you'll be surprised by the little pot of gold that's filled up.
5. Or Fill Your Wallet With Some Gold
Gold card, that is. Get matched with a luxury card or other great rewards card when you use Experian CreditMatchTM to find a match for you.
Too many credit card applications in a short period can hurt your credit score. But applications can add up when you're trying to get approved for a new card. You can protect your credit score when you're researching cards with CreditMatch. CreditMatch tells you which cards best fit your credit profile, giving you the information you need to make the right choice.
Get Lucky With Credit
Feeling lucky with money usually comes from a pattern of confident and wise financial choices. When you take steps to stay on top of monitoring your credit, save money and get the best financial perks available to you, you have the tools to bring a little luck into your life.