Have you been declined by multiple creditors because you have bad credit? Does your credit score suck big time? If you've just realized that you have bad credit and made a decision to repair your credit, we'd like to congratulate you. You've made a very wise decision.

Most people who are in debt and have bad credit only try to pay back their debt. They never really try to repair their credit. This actually prevents them from borrowing in times of need due to a bad credit score.

Now, you may have gotten yourself into a BIG pool of debt that's made you owe to yourself that you'll never borrow again. But you can't be that way all the time.

You need credit. Credit is what helps people move the world. Businesses begin on credit from investors and turn into mega corporations. People buy homes by taking a mortgage. They don't do so by saving money each and every month and buying their house in full. Credit helps you get things faster and can really be a blessing if used wisely.

But the problem is, most people do not really know how to use credit. They become addicted to credit consumption, use it multiple times impulsively and end up in a huge pile of debt. Fortunately, you've realized your problem and are now willing to fix it. It's a step in the right direction.

In this article, we're going to help you get started with credit repair and help you improve your credit score by at least a little bit...

The first and foremost important thing you need to do before you get started with credit repair is to get your latest credit report. Your latest credit report will give you all the information you need about the debts you owe, your credit history, your FICO score and the current debts you have. You can use the information to prioritize your debts when paying them back.

Getting a credit report is recommended not only for those who are looking to repair their credit but also for those who are thinking of borrowing a new loan. You see... every loan you apply for (whether it be through credit cards or not) causes an inquiry on your credit report. There are actually two kinds of inquires - a soft inquiry and a hard inquiry.

A soft inquiry happens when you request your credit report for personal use or when a creditor requires some of the information in the credit report for marketing purposes. If a creditor wants to offer a pre-approved loan to you, he may check your credit score and use it to determine your worthiness. This is called a soft inquiry and doesn't have an impact on your credit score at all.

A hard inquiry happens when you apply for credit and the creditor requests information from the reporting agency to determine your worthiness. Every single hard inquiry can significantly affect your credit score even if your loan application is declined and limit your borrowing abilities.

So it always pays to get your credit report and be sure that you're qualified for the loan before you even apply for it. This will prevent you from repeatedly reapplying for a loan with different creditors one after another (which will further damage your credit score).

There are many ways to get your credit report. You are entitled to receive one free credit report per year from any of the three credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion). You can get it via AnnualCreditReport.com

If you've just asked for a loan from a creditor and the creditor declined the loan because you don't qualify, you can contact the creditor and ask them which reporting agency they got your score from.

You can then contact the specific reporting agency and get a free credit report from them when you submit the details of the creditor within 30 days of your loan application. Time is short. So make a request as soon as you find out that your loan application has been disapproved.

Another way to get your credit report free is through credit monitoring services. Credit monitoring services in order to attract new clients tend to offer a free credit report and monitoring services on a trial basis. You can get your report from them. But remember, you'll have to cancel your subscription after the trial period is over to avoid being charged.

If you are not able to get your credit report through any of the above mentioned ways, you can order one from any of the reporting agencies.

Once you receive your credit report, you'll have to look for two things: Existing debts and Errors.

Your credit report is likely to have at least a few errors (most credit consumers do). So make sure that you do a thorough check on the report to identify any issues. If you find any, make a copy of the credit report, circle the errors and find evidence or documents that prove that the error is wrong.

Fax the document along with the report highlighting the errors to the credit reporting agency. The credit reporting agency will make the changes (if they are valid) and will provide you with a new credit report for Free. They are obliged to do so.

The next thing you have to do is to look at existing debts. There are some debts that are likely to have a much more negative impact on your credit score than the others. Debt to the IRS has a greater negative impact than any other debt that you owe to an external agency.

So make sure that you study the list closely and look for debts that are having the worst impact on your credit score. Late payments on your unsecured credit cards have a bigger negative impact than late payments on your secured credit cards.

Look carefully and prioritize one debt after another. And then it's time to work on having these debts paid off - that's what credit repair is all about. There is no magical way to fix your credit score.

Paying back your debt is the only way to do so. But the key is to prioritize debts that have the biggest impact on your credit and pay them off in order.

If you have funds at hand, try to negotiate a settlement with the creditor and have the debt paid off. In many cases, you can get deductions on interest, other fees, penalties, etc because in their opinion, something is better than nothing.