Have you reviewed your credit report this year? Were you angry at that moment when you reviewed your report and saw late payments for your credit cards, mortgage, or your auto loan?

You probably wondered about how you can get these late payments off of your report.

Late payments do have a major impact on your credit report. The more missed payments, the more impact there will be. It takes about seven years to get these negative items off your credit report.

We will explore how to remove negative items from credit report before 7 years.

Improve Your Payments

A good strategy in correcting your credit report is to start making payment on late payments. Pay your bills in full and try to catch up as quickly as possible.

This includes bills that you are a month or two behind as well as any bills that were already sent to collections.

You may even use your 401K plan as a loan to pay down existing balances.

If you are having trouble keeping track of your monthly expenses, here is a list of twelve free apps to help you out. Mint is a popular one that many people have heard about.

Write Letters To Your Creditors

We all miss payments from time to time for various reasons. If you write a letter to your creditors explaining the events that caused your late payments, your creditor may grant you a goodwill adjustment.

A goodwill adjustment allows your creditor to remove the late payment from your credit report. You can also write letters directly to the credit bureaus. Goodwill adjustment letters work best for smaller creditors such as utilities and small credit unions.

In the following video, Michael Bovee, founder of Consumer Recovery Network, shares his thoughts on the use of goodwill adjustment letters. He helps educate consumers on debt and credit issues.

Make Life Easier… Set Up Automatic Bill Payments

For large expenses such as your mortgage or car loan, you can set up payments for automatic payment so the loan payments are taken directly out of your checking account.

This is a good way for you to never miss your loan payment. Making sure you have an overdraft account linked to your checking account will make sure you do not get into a situation where there is no money in your account to cover your payments.

Using online banking will allow you to see what is going on with your account at any moment. Getting in the habit of checking your account often will make it easier to stay on top of the money going in and coming out of it.

Dispute Errors Quickly

If you find errors on your credit report, make sure you dispute them right away. Errors can happen even to consumers with the best credit scores.

Errors can include simple things like wrong names and addresses or even reveal identity theft. That is why it is important to make sure all information is correct.

Get Some Credit Counseling

If none of the above suggestions help, there are reputable credit counselors that can advise you on managing your budget. You can find a list of credit counselors organized by state. You can also hire a credit repair service

You need this type of counseling for about six months before filing for personal bankruptcy.

With some time and action on your part, it is possible to clean up your credit report before seven years. If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment.

The best way to take action is as follows:

• Clean up your finances and become current on all payments
• Write letters to creditors about smaller issues that you think can be resolved
• Dispute any errors by writing a letter to the credit bureaus
• Get credit counseling if you have trouble staying current on payments in the future

Now that you know how to remove negative items from credit report before 7 years, whats your next steps toward better credit? 

Sources:
http://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/category/credit-advice/loans/delinquency
https://www.forbes.com/sites/financialfinesse/2016/12/04/how-to-improve-your-credit-score-quickly/#46db3f6549a
https://www.forbes.com/sites/samanthasharf/2016/03/02/12-free-apps-to-track-your-spending-and-how-to-pick-the-best-one-for-you/#e448c1754453