Getting started

The first thing that you need to know before adopting a plan for credit management is that there will most likely be some personal sacrifices that you will have to make. For some these sacrifices will be to merely be more away of their spending habits, while for others the necessary changes may be much more drastic and disruptive to what you may be used to.

• Pay off your bills. Plainly and simply, the fastest and best way to manage your credit and to get yourself back to a place where you no longer stress over managing your credit is to pay off your debts. The longer it takes you to pay your credit card bills, the more money you will have to spend on interest and that means dragging the length that you carry that debt on for an even longer period of time. You will hear a lot of very tempting claims that you can have your debts forgiven or go a period of time without interest, but know that nothing is free and you will have to pay your debts one way or another.
• Don't max out your cards. Part of managing your credit is understanding how your actions affect your credit and how your credit affects the options that you have in your financial future. One of the factors that your credit score is based on is a ratio of how much credit you have available to you and how much of that credit you are actually borrowing. The more you are borrowing, the worse off your score will be. Naturally, maxing out your cards is also detrimental because you will eventually have to pay off whatever amount that you have charged.
• Check your report for errors. You can make all the right choices in your money management decisions and still end up with poor credit if there are errors on your report. Your credit report is compiled by three different credit reporting bureaus. It is possible and not uncommon for there to be errors on at least one of these tree credit reporting bureau's records. Your credit report contains all kinds of personal and financial information. Past addresses, credit accounts, and personal identifying information are just a few of the things that could very easily be entered in incorrectly. There is also the possibility that you could be a victim of identity theft. Checking your credit report on all three of these sites can be an invaluable tool in ensuring that you are held responsible for the credit that you have spent and that you can correct any fraudulent usage of your credit.

If you can't afford it, don't charge it

Next to simply paying off your bills each month, the best way to manage your credit is to not have to us it. While using credit wisely can help your credit, there are those who find that their situation is better when they simply avoid using credit at all. For some the temptation and ease of accessibility is too much. If you are one of these people, a good rule of thumb to remember before swiping any card is that if you can't afford it, don't charge it.