Now that the economy has taken a downturn, even more people are struggling to maintain good credit. It will take some time to fix your credit and you should follow these suggestions.

The first thing to look at is your credit score. There are lots of websites to check your credit. With your score in hand, you can start taking steps to correct inaccurate information and raise your score.

By asking your creditors what payment options are available, you may discover ways to save funds that would otherwise have been spent on interest charges and late fees. Some companies will extend your payment deadlines, waive your late fees and work with you. This allows you to take care of bills which are urgent and slowly work on paying down your other bills gradually.

It is essential that you have a copy of your report to find mistakes. If you find that errors have been made on your credit report, it is important to immediately contact the consumer reporting company and information provider. Get these errors fixed as soon as possible.

It is necessary to know your rights about unpaid debt and what steps can be taken for collecting it from you. For example, it's illegal for collection agencies to verbally threaten a person over the phone, and you cannot go to prison for missing payments. While the statutes may vary from one state to the next, making threats and abusive statements is typically illegal. Know your rights to ensure that they are being upheld.

Your credit balances should never be higher than 30 percent. Keeping your balances low will be easier for you to manage. High balances accrue more interest, and are harder to pay off.

Believe it or not, collection agencies may be able to offer you a better payment plan than your original lender. In a lot of cases, collection agencies will work with you. Do not avoid collectors-- be honest with them and talk about a compromise. Emphasize that you having a difficult time paying off your debt, but that you are interested in doing whatever you can. Sometimes you can even cut your debt in half just by using these techniques and speaking to debt collectors when contacted by them. If you will follow through on the requests of the debtors, they will be more likely to help you out. If they see you making an effort, they are more willing to negotiate.

The suggestions provided here give you ways to monitor and maintain your credit rating. Start leveraging these suggestions to begin making inroads in credit repair immediately.