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Repairing your credit can feel overwhelming, but you can take control of your credit score without spending any money. Sometimes it requires getting a loan to pay off high-interest debt (we list our favorite hardship loans here), while in other cases, it may simply be a matter of getting black marks off your credit report.

Take it from me, I wrote a book about how to get out of debt and clean up your credit (The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Beating Debt), and I know this stuff works.

Dispute errors under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)

One of the first steps in repairing your credit is to review your credit report for inaccuracies. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), you have the right to dispute any incorrect or outdated information on your report, and credit bureaus must investigate those disputes. This gives you the opportunity to delete old or inaccurate items that may be dragging down your credit score.

You are entitled to one free credit report each week from the major credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Carefully examine your report for errors such as:

• Accounts you do not recognize
• Payments that were wrongly reported as late
• Balances that are listed incorrectly
• Items more than seven years old (by law, those need to be deleted)
• Other incorrect information

If you do find a mistake, you can file a dispute with the credit bureau — and be sure to do so in writing, to create a paper trail. Once the error is corrected, your credit score will improve, often quite significantly, without you spending a dime.

This is one of the most powerful tools you have for credit repair, as correcting errors can have an immediate positive impact.

Negotiate with creditors directly

If you have overdue accounts or debts in collections, the next trick is to start negotiating with your creditors, because if you can get your accounts up to date, balances lowered, or debts paid off altogether, then you are really cookin’!

The fact is, many creditors will be open to working with you, especially if they believe you are willing to resolve the debt. For example, one good trick is that you can ask them to remove negative entries from your credit report in exchange for paying off or settling the debt.

Another strategy is to request that the creditor report the debt as “paid in full” or “paid as agreed,” rather than “settled,” even if you agree that you will only be paying part of the full amount due. Creditors agree to this because it is often easier and cheaper than carrying a long-term, dead number on the books.

Receiving some amount of money is usually better than nothing.

This move certainly will positively reflect on your credit report. Some creditors may even agree to delete the negative entries entirely if the balance is paid in full.

Between getting bills paid off (even if not at 100%), and getting old negative information off your credit report, you will go a long way toward having a solid credit rating again.

Pay off — or pay down — your credit cards

Revolving credit card debt is the biggest thing that can affect a credit report either positively or negatively; your credit utilization (how much credit you’re using relative to how much you have access to) represents 30% of your FICO® Score. So your job is to get those paid down, or better, paid off.

That may require getting a better balance transfer card with a lower rate — that is a good first step, and you can click here to check out our picks for the best balance transfer cards.

Also consider borrowing money from family if possible or applying for a hardship or debt consolidation loan, and then paying that off. You could also grow your income by taking on extra work or selling some assets to get clear of the debt. For your peace of mind and to repair your credit, it’s worth the time and sacrifice.

You can do it!

Between getting rid of outdated and incorrect items on your credit report, negotiating with your creditors to pay less and have them report you as “paid as agreed,” and then reducing your credit card balances overall, you will go a long way to having stellar credit again. You may be surprised at how soon you’ll see improvement in your credit score.

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