Like many people my age, I graduated from high school and started college. As a college student, most of my time is focused on studying, pursuing extracurricular activities, and spending time with friends – and just as important to my undergraduate experience, I am living on my own for the first and gaining newfound independence as a young adult.

Growing up, my parents taught me to take responsibility for my actions, and for me, this includes being financially responsible. But the reality is that when making the transition from living at home to living on campus, I am still dependent on my parents while also learning through trial and error…like when it comes to understanding the importance of credit. In fact, when I applied for my first credit card without someone to co-sign, I was denied, and what I learned then was that I could not get a credit card because I had no credit. I was “credit invisible.”

Until then, the only understanding of credit I had was that if I wanted to buy a house or get a car one day, I would need a good credit score to get a good deal. My parents had basic conversations with me about credit, but nothing deep enough so that I could make a change for myself. And so, at that point, I knew that if I wanted to take responsibility for my financial independence, I would need to start learning about the importance of credit, how to start building credit, and how credit can help me get what I want in life.

I signed up for RentReporters in July 2016, and they reported my rent going back to August 2015. In less than 48 hours, I went from being credit invisible to a credit score of 658!

RentReporters has played an important role in my credit education. For instance, until RentReporters, I didn’t know that rent payments could be reported to improve your credit score. And for college students, that’s a really big deal.

After Joining RentReporters:

With my new credit score, I was able to apply and be approved for my first credit card. For me, this was an important milestone. As an adult, I am learning to be financially independent, and now, I’m able to buy what I need without help. I’m learning how to take responsibility for my finances and am on track to building my credit score. This is important because I’m now able to plan for the future.

Experience with RentReporters:

Many people my age are not thinking about getting better interest rates on loans, finding a better apartment after graduation, and being be billed for utilities rather than having to pre-pay. And if we wait until we graduate to start thinking about the importance of credit, and how it affects our ability to live our lives and get what we want in life, it’s too late.

RentReporters provides so many important educational resources and a way for people to start building a credit score. Without RentReporters, I would not have a credit score, but now, I’m on my way to building my credit history.

Lindsay is Chief Brand Ambassador for RentReporters. Brand Ambassadors are college students who have an opportunity to change fellow student’s lives and earn money. For more information on the Brand Ambassador program at RentReporters, please visit: www.rentreporters.com/ambassadors.

I’m a disabled veteran. As the doctor bills piled up and I had difficulty keeping up with those payments, my credit score took a hit. And with my low credit score, I was denied credit cards. Also, I wanted to buy a home, but I knew that I wouldn’t be approved for the best deal with my low credit score.

I joined Credit Warriors to learn what I could do on my own to improve my score. Before, I didn’t know much about credit and the importance of your score. I just knew that you needed a certain score to get certain things, and sometimes, you had to have a co-signer to be approved. So, I paid close attention to what the group discussed, and through Credit Warriors, I learned about RentReporters.

I signed up for RentReporters in March, and today, my credit score has improved by 87 points!

After Joining RentReporters:

With my improved credit score, I plan on buying a house by the end of the year, and to keep building on my improved credit score, I pay all my bills – including medical bills – on time. I also know that just because I’ve been pre-approved for something like a credit card, I don’t necessarily need it.

My Experience with RentReporters:

The RentReporters team was very helpful and responsive – they even answered my call by the third ring! RentReporters helped me and my experience with RentReporters was so positive, so I now refer them to friends and family members who are also looking to improve their credit score.

My wife Teresa had surgery, which then led to more health issues and many medical bills. It almost destroyed us financially, as we had to sell everything to pay our bills and make ends meet. We even came close to losing our house. We had a lease with an option to buy, and around the time when Teresa started to become ill, we had just put a lot of our money into it for renovations. 

All this made it difficult for us to get any credit, so everything we bought was either with cash or through our debit card. And if you don’t have credit, you can’t do what many people take for granted, even the simple stuff like renting a car. Not having credit makes it hard to function.

I heard about RentReporters and decided to sign up. The results were great – in about a month, I went from being credit invisible to having a score of 677, and now, my score is up to 760!

After Joining RentReporters:

We’re now rebuilding our lives, and having a new and improved credit score makes life easier. For instance, we have been approved for credit cards, so we can now buy what we need without having to rely on cash purchases. Something as simple as that is life changing.

My Experience with RentReporters:

The RentReporters team was informative and gave us regular updates. I recommend RentReporters to anyone who is renting and trying to build their credit. They worked for us, and I have even recommended them to my son and daughter. 

My credit score was low – it was in the 400s, and having a low credit score negatively impacted my life in so many ways. For example, I was not able to lease an apartment on my own, so my boyfriend had to co-sign my lease. Also, I couldn’t get a car loan and a credit card. Basically, I was stuck. And, quite honestly, I felt as if I would never be able to get out of this negative cycle. I thought it was what it was, and then, life got in the way of taking action.

A friend of mine works at RentReporters, and he told me about the company and how they work. Until then, I was not aware of RentReporters and that they could report my rent payments. Yet, I had always wondered why rent wasn’t being reported on credit reports. It seemed so logical to me. After all, you pay rent on time, and that’s the same as paying a bill on time. So, I decided to sign up.

It took about a week for them to get a hold of the property manager at the leasing company. Once RentReporters received my landlord verification, my credit score changed in about a week or two. In fact, my credit score has improved by 120 points!!!!

After Joining RentReporters:

I have been a customer for about 3 months now. Since credit score has improved, I am proactive about my credit. For instance, I went through my credit report with a fine-tooth comb and am working with the credit bureaus to get the erroneous information deleted. I am also thinking about money in a different way. Now, I am more conscious about how I spend money and how it would or would not affect my credit score.

I definitely feel different. This process woke me up, and RentReporters helped me to take action. Before, I was afraid to do anything. I didn’t know what to do. Now, I am taking my financial life to the next level.

I can’t wait to go car shopping next week. Imagine that! I can now apply for a car loan!

My Experience with RentReporters:

Oh my gosh – I tell everyone about RentReporters! I’m so impressed with the company and their service – I even became a verified RentReporters Brand Ambassador. My goal is to tell others about RentReporters, so they, too, can get the help they need.

Due to various life events, like having to take a pay cut for my new job and going through some financial hardships, my credit score took a dip. I’m 50 years old, and I would have never thought that I’d be going through this at my age.

When you have a low credit score, you can’t get what you want and need in life – and no matter how old you are you need to be able to take care of yourself. My low credit score prevented me from getting anything, including credit cards and approval for a car or home loan.

I have life goals that I couldn’t achieve with my low score. For instance, I’d like to buy a home. So, I needed to do something to improve my score and learned about Credit Warriors through a friend. Through Credit Warriors, I was introduced to RentReporters.

I signed up for RentReporters and within 30 days, my score went up. Today, my score has increased by 56 points, and I now have a credit score of 675!

After Joining RentReporters:

I haven’t applied for any credit yet because I’m working on building my score even higher. For example, I know I could be approved for a home mortgage with my current score, but I also know that if I continue to increase my score, I can get a lower interest rate. I feel like things are going in a positive direction, and I’m now on the right track. I can achieve my goals.

I understand that credit is power, so I continue to proactively improve my score by making timely payments and keeping my utilization rate down. 

My Experience with RentReporters:

The RentReporters team was excellent. Every question I had was handled in a timely and efficient manner. I certainly recommend RentReporters to others who are looking to improve their scores.

You never know what could happen in life, and it takes just one incident to turn your life around, resulting in something negative that could bring down your credit score. RentReporters gave me a boost in my score and the confidence that things will get better.

I am in the credit repair business, and many of my customers are renters who don’t have established credit. As a result, they can’t be approved for loans, credit cards and a home mortgage. I work with them to get their credit in shape so that their dreams can come true.

Because of my line of work, I know how to repair my own credit – like being an authorized user on other credit accounts. But because I had some difficulty getting approved for standard credit cards and one of my goals is to have my credit score in the 800-range, I decided it was time to do something to give it a bigger boost. 

I did some online research and learned about RentReporters. I decided to sign up and my score went up.

After Joining RentReporters:

In about two weeks, my credit score increased by 40 points!  I’m now on my way to building my credit score and can be approved for loans and standard credit cards.

My Experience with RentReporters:

The RentReporters team was great. I’m big on customer service, and everyone responded immediately. I really liked having access to their live chat feature on their website, and the videos were very informative. I had a great experience, and I recommend them to anyone who wants to build and improve their credit score.

For the past few years, I didn’t do much with my credit. My credit was idle, and when I would look at my score, one bureau would show no score while another bureau would give me a very low number. My credit had no volume or validity because I did not open and apply for anything that would generate a score. Instead, I used my debit card to make purchases and stayed within my budget. I had no outstanding debt, no personal banking credit cards, no auto loans – everything I have, I own outright.

I am in the real estate business, and I want to purchase properties and do some repairs. In order to accomplish these goals, I need lines of credit as I accumulate more cash to move forward.

One of my colleagues used RentReporters and had a positive experience. I decided to sign up, and within 5 days, I was approved. By adding RentReporters and becoming an authorized user on someone’s credit card, I quickly saw my score go from 0 to over 750!

After Joining RentReporters:

I joined RentReporters about 3 weeks ago, and my score continues to increase, with TransUnion showing a score of 782 and Equifax at 772! To further strengthen my score, I’m in the process of opening two additional primary accounts.

My Experience with RentReporters:

The RentReporters team was great to deal with and made the process as easy and quick as possible. And for me, the result was just as they said it would be – my score went up.

RentReporters really helps those who need a second chance and are trying to start over. If you are a renter and pay your bills on time, you should sign up – you don’t need anything special to qualify, just landlord verification and on time rent payments.