If you have bad credit it can make life a lot harder for you.  It’s harder to get a car, a house, a credit card or other loan that you may want to get to assist with a big purchase such as a TV or a vacation.  But, you already know all of this, that is why you are searching for how to erase bad credit.  There are definitely some things you can do to improve your credit score and begin erasing bad credit and making it a thing of the past.

Here are a few of the steps that you can take to erase bad credit legally:

1.) Check your credit score and find out what is in your credit report.  The first step you need to take in order to erase bad credit reports is to know exactly what is in your credit report.  Without knowing that, you won’t be able to fix bad credit problems.  There may be things in there that are not your fault but they are harming you.  Check for any duplicate accounts, any old accounts (more than 7 years) that have been fully paid, or check for any missed payments that you know you for sure made (and have proof of it.)  By simply looking in your credit report you can erase bad credit free by just looking for any credit bureau mistakes that may be hurting your credit.

2.) Pay off your debts.   The lower that your credit balance is compared to your available credit limit is a factor that weighs into your credit report and credit score.  If your current credit balance is more than 50% of the available limit, then it is hurting your credit score.  So if you have $2050 on credit cards, and your credit cards combined have a max of $4000, then start to pay that down and that alone will help get you on the way to helping you to erase bad credit fast.

3.) Pay off your debts on time.  The credit card companies want to make sure that they are getting their money back that they loaned you, each and every month.  That is why they set minimum payments, so that they can expect money to come in.  One way to erase bad credit history is to start a good credit history and paying on time is the key.  Although only paying the minimums won’t help you get out of debt quickly, paying the minimums is necessary in order to not harm your credit anymore, especially if you’re in the process of credit restoration.

4.) Don’t accrue more debt.  One of the hardest things for me on my road to erase bad credit and clear debt once and for all was to not accrue more debt.  My spending habits and wanting to have the latest new things caused me to accrue more debt.  Well, I still had those habits and I had to fight those habits.  I was determined to erase bad credit for free, so in addition to not spending money on a credit counselor since I could do all of the steps above for free, I also had to reign in my spending on others areas.  Once I learned how to control my spending habits, I was watching my credit card balances shrink and shrink, and eventually I was able to erase debt and be debt free.

Although I didn’t go into how to erase bad credit illegally, these steps above are proven, and best of all, they are free.  They just require hard work and discipline, but you can have good credit before you know it by following these steps above.  A good place to start is by getting a tri merge credit report, so you can become intimately familiar with your credit score and history.  Now you don’t have to keep wondering “how can I actually repair my credit?”  Know you have a great place to start.

If you have bad credit and still need an additional loan for some reason, check out our article on personal loans for people with bad credit, or on bad credit mortgage loans.