Most of our credit scores could benefit from being bumped up a few numbers. Luckily, whether you need to increase your score a great deal or only by two points, there are multiple steps you can actively take to improve your rating.

Pay Down Debt

Some experts estimate that you can raise your credit score by as much as twenty points in a matter of weeks by paying down your balances. Your debt-to-credit ratio is very important to your credit score; it compares the amount of credit you are currently using with the amount of credit you have in total. The less debt you have, the better your ratio, and the better your score. Develop a monthly budget and devote as much of your monthly income as possible to paying down your debt principal.

If you have one credit card at its credit limit, and another credit card with a zero balance, consider moving some of the first card's balance to the empty card to spread your debt around more evenly.

Error Repair

Credit reports are known to be error-prone. It's not your fault if a mistake appears on your report, but it is your responsibility to fix it.

Request a copy of your credit report (everyone is entitled to one free report per year) from each of the three major credit reporting agencies. Read through it carefully, reviewing dates, balance amounts, late payments, collections activity, and all other details. If something looks unfamiliar, cross-reference it with your saved paperwork to determine whether it's correct or not.

Errors can range from listing the wrong credit limit on a credit card to listing an entire account that's not even yours. One seemingly tiny mistake can greatly affect your credit score, and the best news is, correcting mistakes is the fastest way to up your rating. You will need to contact each credit reporting agency that shows the error, as well as the creditor involved with the error, with a certified letter containing your contact and account information, the incorrect information, and the correct information.

It can take thirty or more days for your credit report to reflect any changes. Pull your credit report again one month after requesting any updates and make sure the information showing is now accurate.

Some Things Take Time

There are some items on your credit report that simply cannot be improved upon by anything but time. These include bankruptcy, late payments, and collections. If you have any or all of these on your credit report, the best thing to do is improve your score as much as possible in all other areas. You also want to avoid any new negatives on your report, so be sure to make all future payments on time and avoid any collection activity.

As time goes on, less and less weight will be given to the items reducing your score. After seven years, even a bankruptcy disappears completely.

Individuals everywhere, looking to get out of debt and begin investing can turn to the debt aide organization National Association of Responsible Lending and Investment at http://www.NARCLI.org. You may reach debt relief and investment experts via e-mail to Question@NARCLI.org.