Credit providers will check your credit payment history to see if you have paid your debt instalments on time every month. Check if there are any instalments which you haven’t been paying as you are supposed to and start paying them in full every month.

Try to establish a healthy balance of credit accounts so you can build a strong credit history. A healthy balance can include credit accounts with stores, a mortgage agreement and service contracts. Remember to set reminders for yourself to pay your instalments on time.

Commit to paying off all your accounts that are in arrears. Make it your goal to spend less than 30% of your credit limit in order to avoid spending money you don’t have. You can also take the necessary steps to pay all your outstanding debt so that any negative information can be removed from your credit report.

Check your credit reports regularly and make sure there aren’t any negative issues that are dragging your credit score down. Look out for things like a court judgment, where a court issued an instruction to you to pay an outstanding debt amount, or an old issue that’s been resolved but still appears on your report.

Register for your free Sanlam Credit Dashboard to ensure that your credit report is accurate.

Only apply for new credit accounts when needed. Too many applications for credit accounts in a short period of time could indicate a major change in your financial situation. This could discourage credit providers in taking you on as a client.