Raise your hand if you were one of the millions of people who promised yourself you’d only use your credit cards for an emergency. Everyone who read this just raised their hand, and that’s because no one takes on a line of credit with the intent of falling into debt. It happens, though and then it’s all downhill unless you take the steps to fix your credit score. Here’s how you can do it.

A great tip for people who are trying to repair their credit is to make sure you know who is looking at your credit report and why. This way you will know how many inquiries have been made and you can dispute any unnecessary or illegal inquiries into your report.

To help you manage or prevent arthritis when exercising you should wear shoes that are sturdy and supportive. If you exercise with shoes that are not sturdy and supportive it can lead to an over stress of the joints. If you’ve been wearing one pair of athletic shoes for a year, it is now a good time to replace them.

One tip that everyone who is trying to repair their credit should understand is to know the difference between hard and soft inquiries. Soft inquiries will not affect your credit score where as hard inquiries do. Make sure you know exactly how many hard inquiries are on your account at any given time.

Whenever you find a mistake on your credit report, it is important to contact the creditor as well as the credit bureau when you are trying to rectify that mistake. This can help any future problems by preventing that creditor from making the same mistake twice so you won’t have to go through it again.

Take note of where you are getting your credit report from, when you are looking to repair your credit. There are many different places that will offer you a copy of your credit report. It is best, though, if you try and get your copies from the credit bureaus, themselves.

To avoid hurting your credit when you can’t afford to pay all your bills for the month, prioritize. A single late payment towards a medical bill, a payday loan, or even your electric bill won’t hurt your credit in the way that a late credit card payment will. While those late fees may hurt, at least they won’t damage your credit score.

To avoid being unduly harassed by creditors, learn your rights fast. Some collection agencies have been known to lie or engage in illegal techniques in order to get paid. Read up on the collection agency laws in your area as well as the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. A little knowledge will give you the ammunition you need to shut down harassment.

To increase your credit score, keep the balance owed on your credit cards at less than 30% of the card’s total limit. The way you utilize your credit is something that credit bureaus consider when evaluating your credit, and a little restraint will go a long way to show that you use your credit responsibly.

While it maybe tempting to agree to instant payments to creditors over the phone, paying by paper check can give you absolute proof of payment should the need arise. Keep canceled checks attached to all pertinent bills and paperwork or be sure to make copies of checks when they are available online.

At the end of the day, getting out of a bad credit situation is all about arming yourself with the proper information to do so. The net is riddled with misinformation and half-truths so heed this information wisely and use it to pull yourself up by the bootstraps so you can experience a life bereft of bad credit.