here are some pointers on how to help build or rebuild good credit. most places, when checking your credit history, rely on the fico score (or some variation of that) to determine whether or not you're "credit worthy." the higher the fico score, the better. here are some ways you can increase you fico score:

1. pay your bills ON TIME! this applies to everything from credit card bills to phone / utility bills. normally, paying a bill 1 to 25 days late won't negatively impact your credit, but any more than 25 days and you risk having that delinquency on your credit report for the next 7 years. other than bankruptcies / defaulting on prior loans, delinquencies are the biggest fico score killers. also, credit bureaus keep track of how many consecutive payments you make- the more, the better. one late payment, and your streak is gone...

2. keep your balances low in relation to your credit limits. in order to help this ratio, either decrease your balances (harder) or request (via phone / internet) credit line increases (easier). when lenders see that you have credit line out there that you're not using, they're more prone to consider you lower risk. don't think in terms of dollars, but more in terms of what % of your total credit line you're not using.

you can also increase your credit line by opening new accounts, but your fico score will take a small dive (20 points or so) every time you open a new account. it will climb back up over the course of 6 months to a year, so opening accounts every now and then (ie., at most once a year) is fine.

3. don't have a lot of active accounts (ie., credit cards with balances). it's better to have 1 credit card with $5000 in balances than 5 credit cards with $1000 each. if possible, consolidate all your credit card debts into as few cards as possible. this will help you remember to pay bills on time, too, as you'll have to sift thrugh less mail and pay fewer bills. saves postage, too!

if you're trying to consolidate your credit card bills, find a solicitation out there that offers the lowest apr on balance transfers with minimal / no balance transfer fees. pay close attention to the purchase apr because, with a lot of cards, the purchase apr can be different (sometimes much higher) than that of the balance transfer apr. if the purchase apr is higher than that of the balance transfer apr, it's okay to balance transfer as much of your balances as possible to the new card, but DON'T USE THAT CARD FOR PURCHASES! use one of your other cards for any new purchases, and pay those balances off in full.

reason for this (not using the newer card for purchases if the purchase apr is higher) is because when you make payments, those payments are always allocated towards the lower apr balances first. s

if you balance transfer $2000 at a 0.0 apr
you then purchase $2000 at a 19.99 purchase apr
you then make a payment of $2000.
your remaining balance of $2000 will be at the 19.99 rate (because the $2000 payment was allocated towards the 0.00 rate balance first).

if your balance transfer rate is the same as your purchase rate (read the fine print!) then you're fine- just pay attention to when your promotional period expires, and look for new solicitations when it does.

4. if you've done some bad credit things in the past, only time will heal you. so, focus more on rebuilding your credit rather than dwelling on how bad it is today. delinquencies are delinquencies, but the longer ago a delinquency occurred, the less it will impact your fico score. over time (seven years), these delinquencies will be removed from your credit report forever.

5. don't open credit card accounts you don't need. as mentioned before, each time you open an account, your fico score will temporarily suffer a small dip. if you open a bunch of accounts at the same time (for free t-shirts, gift certificates, or whatnot) your fico score will suffer even more. only open accounts when you feel like the promotional rate will help you manage your bills better.

6. never, ever use your credit card to make a cash advance. the cash advance aprs on credit cards are insanely high (and see the example from #3 which demonstrates that you'll always have that higher apr balance until you pay your balance off in full). in addition, cash advances are usually interpreted as high-risk activities, which (although it won't negatively impact your fico score) will make credit card companies less willing to extend you apr reductions and / or credit line increases.

7. most importantly, don't spend money you don't have. no, you don't need that free-after-rebate device that will put you in debt as you wait for the rebate to come in through the mail. it seems so obvious, but it's totally like the "don't gamble what you can't afford to lose" advice. it's the same concept- gambling, and spending money that you don't have are simply human nature. try your best to pry yourself away from your tendencies.

8. call up your credit card company and request for a lower rate (in addition to a credit line increase, from #2 above). finance charges are a lot higher than you think they are, and they help prevent you from paying off your debts. thus, the lower the apr, the lower the finance charges, and the faster you'll pay off your debt. don't use the lower apr as an excuse to hang on to the balance longer- you'll ultimately feel better with lower debt.

9. it's not necessary to revolve balances (ie., not pay your bill in full and incur finance charges) in order to build credit. for some reason, lots of people are under the impression that you need to revolve balances in order to develop good credit. nope, not true. it helps to *use* credit cards to build good credit, but paying off your balance in full helps build good credit. this is because possessing high levels of debt will negatively impact your fico score.

10. sign up for internet access to your account- you'll be able to better track your payment due dates, and, in turn, make more payments on time. you'll also save on postage (yes, i know, 34 cents isn't a lot, but it adds up over time). plus, you'll never "lose a payment" in the mail.