Whenever you find yourself in a great deal of debt, your credit is going to suffer. Keeping your credit score high can help you keep interest rates low, allowing you to have lower payments if you need to take out new debt for a home or automobile. But if you have bad credit, it can be difficult to find relief. Therefore, in order to repair your bad credit you must follow several very specific guidelines in order to help increase your credit score.

1)      Always pay the full amount of your bills on time. Any late payments can affect your credit, but payments over 30 days late can cause your credit score to decrease. Paying more than the minimum is also advisable, but it should never be done by individuals that cannot afford it, as paying more than the minimum may cause people on low incomes to miss a future payment.

2)      Do not have many open credit cards or apply for any additional credit cards. 2 Credit cards should be the maximum for any individual, and opening a new credit card account - even when you cancel an old one - has a negative impact on your credit.

3)      Any public record of debt is to be avoided or cleared up. Try not to go into bankruptcy or insolvency, as these are automatic credit score killers. If you already were in bankruptcy, do your best to clear up all of your past due bills and your credit score will begin to rise again, albeit slowly.

4)      Purposely ask to lower the amount of credit you have available on your credit cards. Having high credit limits, even if you are not using them, can negatively affect your credit score. Keeping them low shows creditors that you are not going to go on any spending binges any time soon.

5)      In addition to number 2, it is best to have at least one credit card that you use with some safe consistency. If you currently have no loans or credit cards, creditors cannot learn if you are trustworthy enough for loans in the future. By having one, single, low limit credit card and using it sparingly (making all of your payments on time), you can impress creditors and show them that you are going to make payments in the future.

6)      Consolidate your loans - Loan consolidation is a sign to creditors that you are only responsible for one monthly payment rather than several hectic payments. It reduces the number of loans on your record (the number of loans you have affect your credit score almost as much as the total amount of the loans) which will, in turn, raise your credit score.

7)      Always check for errors on your credit history often and early. If you notice an error that has been negatively affecting your credit score, but you do not catch it right away, it may be too late to save your credit even after the error is fixed.

If you can help improve your credit score, you leave yourself more likely to get lower cost loans and credit in the future, which will - in turn - help you make future payments as well.