If you’re currently one of the millions of Americans in debt and you’re looking to boost your fico score, well look no further.  I’ve compiled a few steps that have worked for thousands and it can work for you as well.  All it takes is a little bit of your time and dedication to your credit report and you’ll see an improvement in no time at all.

Fix all corrections on your report – If you haven’t done so already, make sure you head off and get a copy of your credit report.  When you get your credit report, sit down, and browse through it.  If you see anything that looks fishy, make sure you fix this ASAP.  These inaccuracies can hurt your FICO score.  This is something you don’t want!

Negotiate bad credit marks- If there’s some bad credit marks on your report, this is hurting your score.  Try and call up the credit company and see if you can negotiate to get it removed.  Ask nicely and try to work out a deal.  Some companies will work with you and some won’t.  If you can get them to remove it, that’s great!  If not, at least you’ve tried.

Keep paying off debt- This is a no brainer.  If you have debt, don’t stop paying it off, instead pay off at least the minimum.  Credit card companies want to see activity.  Your minimum amount due shouldn’t be that much and if you can keep this up month to month, you will slowly see your score rise.  If you sit there and you don’t pay your bills off, this is only going to hurt you more.  When you’re hurting for cash, try and go out and find a side job like delivering pizzas or mowing lawns, nothing should hold you back!

Keep old accounts opened – Look at all of your credit cards you currently have.  Set aside all of the older cards and keep these accounts open.  Card companies love to see old established credit.  This allows them to see what kind of spending you do.  If you have nothing but new credit, they companies are going to be a little iffy with you and this again will hurt your score.  What I recommend is you cut up your credit card but you just keep the account open.

Repairing your fico score takes a while and it won’t happen overnight but if you apply these techniques to your long run strategy, you will soon see your score rise.  Just remember to pay off your minimum balance, keep you head up, and focus on becoming debt free.