If you have bad credit here in the United States, you’re  not alone.  Thousands of Americans face debt everyday and not only does it cause stress in their everyday life, it also causes uncertainty of their future if they will have their car, house, or any other type of belonging.  There are many steps that you can take to rebuild your credit history but I’m going to show you a few key points that you should take in order to repair your bad credit history.

Always pay the bills on time - If there was one golden rule when it comes to repairing your credit, it would be to pay every bill off on time.  Even if it’s the minimum amount, this doesn’t matter.  Your minimum amount will generally be a small percentage of your total bill.  If you can pay this minimum, I would do everything in my own power to do it.  A unpaid bill on your credit report is a huge ding.

Start cutting the cards – My general rule of thumb is to pay off your credit cards and get rid of them.  If you don’t think you can use a credit card properly, you should either stick to a debit card or just plain old cash.  Once you pay off a credit card bill, cut it up, cancel the card, and don’t even think about it again.  This will do you a lot of good in the future when you don’t fall in that debt hole again. 

Secured Credit Cards – If you’ve completely cleaned up your debt and you’re having a hard time getting a new credit card, you may want to resort to a secured credit card.  The nice thing about a secured credit card is that most people are approved but the only difference is that you have to drop a small deposit in order to open the card.  The reason you have to open the account with a small deposit is becuase you haven’t gained the trust with the credit card companies yet.  If you don’t pay off your bill, they can simply dip into this account and take the money out.

Watch your credit report/score – Once you start paying off your bills and credit cards aggressively, make sure you get a copy of your credit report at least once a month.  This will allow you to keep up to date with your progress and it’ll allow to check and see if there is any suspicious activity.