Gary North

In a recession, there will be lots of bargains. I am thinking especially real estate sold by distressed sellers.

To buy a house from a seller facing a foreclosure, you need a high credit score. To see the five things that are used to establish your FICO credit score, click here:

How can you increase your FICO score before the fire sales begin? The answer is not intuitive.

Fact: closing a credit card lowers your score.

My conclusion: establishing more credit lines helps your score. So, when you are offered another card, take it.

When you receive a credit card application in the mail, fill in the forms and send them in.

Then, when you are sent a new card, buy something for a few hundred dollars that you would have bought anyway. Don't pay this off in one shot. Take three months. The card will have an introductory APR. This low interest is your payment to increase your score.

The more debt you are entitled to, the higher your score if you don't actually run up a high bill. All you should spend per card is enough money to establish the fact that you pay off your debts on time. Pay some interest to show that you are a disciplined user of debt.

Don't do this if you are a debt junkie. Do it as a calculated move to raise your score at a minimal cost, namely, the time it takes to fill out forms.

Once every three years, spend some money and pay it off in three months. This keeps the card/data live.