Credit is an essential tool for most people’s lives. A good credit rating allows for many things that we take for granted: having a credit card, being able to rent property, qualifying for in-store financing, etc. If you fail to make payments towards a creditor this will affect your credit report collected by your credit bureau and will make doing the above things difficult if not impossible. When your credit rating becomes poor, you must take steps as soon as possible to repair it. Credit repair can be a slow process and requires that you build a better credit rating over time. Here are some steps you should take:

1) Add accounts to your credit report. If you are denied credit, you should immediately obtain your credit report from the credit bureau in question. Once you have the report you should examine it closely for errors. In the event that there are no errors, you may find that your credit rating is “poor” not because of outstanding debts, but because you don’t have enough of a credit history to inspire a good rating.

Many types of credit from smaller organizations are not tracked by credit bureaus. Things like gas-cards or department store cards are not usually on your credit report. As long as the account is verifiable, most credit bureaus will add it to your file. They are not obligated to do so, and thus usually charge a fee for this service. By adding these accounts to your credit report you will establish a better credit rating.

2) Credit Counseling. Once you become mired in debt, the process can feed on itself, and it can be difficult to get out of it. If you find yourself having continual problems with your credit repair, you should consider credit counseling. It’s important to notice the distinction between a credit counselor and a credit repair company. The former is usually a non-profit service that offers advice and guidance on credit repair, while the latter are for-profit companies of dubious ethics that generally charge fees for steps that you can easily take care of yourself. A good credit counselor will help you make a realistic budget and stick to it and help you make practical decisions with regards to your outstanding debts.

By adding whatever accounts you have in good standing to your credit report, and seeking credit counseling if necessary, you will make headway into your ultimate goal of credit repair. The difficult thing about credit is that it takes a long time to build a good credit rating and a very short time to destroy it. When your credit rating has been marred you have to understand that there is no quick solution: you will have to build your credit rating again – essentially from scratch. If you avoid the temptations of credit repair companies that promise a quick and easy credit repair for a fee and think instead of long term changes to your budgeting and spending habits, you will – over time – be successful in credit repair.

Credit card debt can mount up quickly and can soon become overwhelming. And in addition to the debt itself, if you get behind the late fees and over-limit fees can make this situation much worse.

One way to get a handle on credit card debt is to opt for weekly payments. In this way, you will pay off every week what you have charged on the card, and this can be much more manageable than waiting until the end of the month when the balance is much higher. Paying weekly can also help reduce the amount in interest you are being charged.

If you really can’t get a handle on your credit card debt any other way, you can always turn to the Consumer Counseling Center of America. This is a non-profit organization that can help you if find yourself in serious financial trouble. They can provide you with credit counselors who can go over you’re your debts and income and help you develop a repayment plan. CCCA will also negotiate with your creditors and can often help to lower interest rates and late payments. Working with a debt counselor will often keep your creditors from harassing you on a daily basis.

Another important step in succeeding with credit card debt counseling is to stop using your credit cards. The easiest way to do this is to cancel all your credit cards except for one, and this one should be used only in emergencies. No credit card debt counseling plan will be effective if you continue to use your credit cards. You have to completely stop using them and pay off the balances. This will require self-discipline on your part but is a vital step.

If you can, you should also consider transferring your credit card balances to the credit card with the lowest interest rate, and then canceling the higher rate cards. Some credit cards offer a limited time no-interest period which can also be useful in paying off your credit card debt.

When looking for a credit card debt counselor, be wary of groups claiming that they can cancel all your credit card debt and repair your credit for a fee. These are very often not legitimate organizations and have conned many consumers out of their hard-earned money when they were trying to get debt relief. Do your research and find out about these groups before agreeing to do business with them.

At the end of the day, it is you who are responsible for your credit card debt. Develop a budget for yourself and be diligent with your repayments, and soon you will be debt-free and enjoying your hard-earned money.