Establishing solid sources of credit and maintaining a good credit report should be a priority in your financial planning. Maintaining a clean credit history can be difficult if you are already suffering from debt problems, but there are simple steps to follow to keep your credit report clean and prevent more serious consumer debt problems.

1. Keep up to date on your bills
   On all credit accounts, make sure you understand late payment policies and what is considered an "on time" payment. Is that bill due on a certain date? Does the payment have to arrive before a certain time to be posted on that date? Even if you are making just the minumum payment, make sure you allow enough time for the payment to arrive.
   
   
2. Close all unused credit accounts
   If you have inactive, unused accounts close those accounts. An unused, open account is reported on your credit report. Even if you owe nothing, this reflects as a "potential credit risk" on your credit report and can damage your credit rating.
   
   
3. Safeguard your credit account information
   Disclosing your credit account details to anyone can be an explosive situation. Especially with the advent of internet sales, it's easy for someone to use your account information to make unauthorized purchases. Yes, these can be fought, but it is sometimes difficult to prove a purchase was not made by the account holder. you are ultimately responsible for your credit card information.
   
   
4. Make more than the minimum payment
   Whenever possible, pay more than the minimum payment. Besides allowing you to get out of debt faster, your efforts will reflect positively on your credit report. Instead of seeing a debt that will never be paid off, potential creditors see a credit balance that will be paid off.
   
   
5. Spend realistically within your budget
   When using credit cards, it's easy to forget that the money you are spending is real money that you will have to pay. Learn to question every credit card purchase: Do I need this? Can I afford this? Can I possibly purchase this for cash?
   
   
6. Check your credit report regularly
   Credit reports often contain inaccurate information. It pays to check your credit report often, making sure that any inaccurate, false information is erased. The process may seem like alot of work, but cleaning up your credit report is necessary.
   
   
7. Don't open more accounts than you need
   Offers of "Low Introductory Rates" arrive daily in the mail. It's tempting to accept every credit card offered. Having many open accounts on your credit report impacts negatively on how potential creditors see you. The more accounts you have open, the more potential there is to live beyond your means and get into serious debt trouble.