Most of us are familiar with credit scores; ranging anywhere from 300 to 850 or sometimes higher, they are considered a sign of financial health and lenders use them to decide on the likelihood that a consumer will be able to repay the loan.

The first step is to know your credit score and these can be gotten from the three major credit reporting bureaus, Equifax, Experian and Trans Union. Once received, check them over and see if there are any errors and report them to the agency.

Naturally the most important part of repairing your credit is to pay your bills on time, also use cash or a debit card instead of a credit card especially when trying to up your score. You may also want to check into a process that some call rapid re-score and is most often used by mortgage companies to qualify individuals for loans. It requires some legwork on your part as you will need to personally take paperwork to your creditors or even pay settlement offers in order to get it quickly reflected in your score.

Even though closing accounts can boost your score right away you want to be careful when you decide which accounts to close as it can affect the ratio of debt to credit limit. Older accounts show that you have a credit history; conversely opening up new accounts at the same time is not a good idea as it gives the impression of needing extra funds. Try to even out the credit card usage ration so that it is overall around 30% which can be done by transferring balances from one card to another.