Have a history of bad credit? It’s never too late to start fixing it! Here are some things you can do:

1. Review your credit report and resolve any discrepancies.

2. Develop an action plan to pay your bills and make a commitment to yourself to be disciplined at sticking to it.

3. Investigate options for consolidating your bills, since you may be able to pay off high interest credit cards and save money.

4. If possible, don’t use credit again until you have improved your late payment situation.

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Factors influencing your FICO® score
Most lenders use FICO® credit risk scores to obtain a fast, objective measure of your credit risk. The five factors that determine your FICO score are:

1. Payment History
This has the largest impact on your score: your ability to pay on time. Note, though, that an overall strong credit profile can help cancel out a few late payments.

2. Amounts Owed
This refers not to owing money, but owing money to a lot of different accounts. The credit grantor will wonder if you can handle one more payment in the mix.

3. Length of Credit History
Generally speaking, the longer your credit history, the better your score. If your credit history is relatively short, other strengths in your profile will help offset this.

4. New Credit
Opening several credit accounts in a short period of time can represent greater risk, especially if you have a short credit history. Fortunately, FICO scores can distinguish between a search for many new credit accounts versus the more innocuous practice of recent rate shopping, which in itself does not make you a higher risk.

5. Types of Credit in Use
A healthy mix of credit cards, mortgage loans, finance company accounts, and retail accounts will improve your score but keep in mind that it’s not necessary to have one of everything. Never open a credit account that you won’t use simply so that it appears on your report.

Interpreting Your Score
When a lender gets your FICO score, up to four "score reasons" are included, which help provide insight into what may have hurt your score. These reasons can really help you find out what you need to work on most to help improve your credit over the long haul. Some of the more frequent score reasons include the following (wording may differ): serious delinquency, public record or collection filed, derogatory public record or collection filed, level of delinquency on accounts, number of accounts with delinquency, amount owed on accounts, proportion of balances to credit limits on revolving accounts is too high, too many accounts with balances.

Ten Ways to Improve Your FICO Score