It really is a shame that so many people are confused and intimidated by credit.  Wouldn’t it be nice if we lived in a world where everything was all spelled out for us and everyone knew just how credit worked?  Unfortunately, that just isn’t a reality.

If you need to clean up your credit, the first thing you will want to do is get a copy of your credit report.  Now is a good time to consider whether or not you want to get your credit score or not.  While you can get your credit report for free, you will have to pay or join a monthly monitoring service to get your score.  Depending on your goals, having a copy of your credit score can be a good idea.

Next, make a list of everything that needs to be addressed.  Even if you know that a derogatory item is accurate, you should still include it on your hot list because you will want to address the account.  Hopefully you will be lucky enough to get it off your report just by disputing, but even if you can you may be able to get it removed by other means such as paying for deletion and debt validation.

Once you have your list, decide on a course of action.  Disputing with the three major credit bureaus is a good course of action.  You should also consider making a plan to pay off your debt.  A good credit restoration plan is key to cleaning up your credit report!