Val Offers Real World Advice for Improving Credit Scores with Good Neighbors Credit Union

There are many reasons you can find yourself dealing with debt and a less-than-stellar credit score. After my divorce left me scrambling financially, I learned some useful tips to getting my credit back on track and becoming debt-free.

The first thing I did was take stock of what my debts were — for me, credit cards were the most debilitating type of debt. They generally carry high interest rates and can take years and years to pay off by only sending in the minimum payment.

It can feel like an impossible situation to get out from under, but here's what I learned on the road to cleaning up my credit.

While my credit score was far from perfect, I was still able to secure a personal loan to help pay down my high interest rate credit cards. I got a loan to cover the nastiest of my credit cards — a $5,000 balance with a 29.99 percent APR.

The loan​'s interest rate was significantly lower than almost 30 percent! So by consolidating my higher interest rate debts into a lower interest rate loan, I could still pay the same monthly amount but take down the balance much faster.

Also, taking out a personal loan helped bring up my credit score significantly after successfully paying it off and finding a lower interest rate option to finance my debt made my money go a lot farther.

See what Good Neighbors Credit Union can do for you. They're different from traditional banks when it comes to building relationships with their members. They know more about who you are as a person than what your financials look like on paper and are happy to review your finances and questions when you join. Learn more at goodneighborscu.com!