Cleaning up your credit can seem tough. Especially since you’re busy and have other things to do. But the price of NOT addressing it is much higher for your long term financial health. Here are five of the best tips to make the most out of your time fixing your credit.

1. Settle old debts.
If you debt has gone to a collector, they likely paid 15-20% of the original debt amount to take it over. And if it gets sold again to another collector, its likely they paid 20% of the amount the previous amount. Meaning if the original debt was $100, the first folks likely paid about $20 for it. The second collector likely paid about $5 for it. This means that if you offer say 30% of the original amount, $30 of the $100, most will take it.

2. Make sure old debt are removed.
This is different from point number 1 in that you have to make sure the debt is reported as settled. Get this in writing. It does you little good to pay a debt, then have it hanging around. Be smarter than that.

3. Make your payments on time.
This goes for ALL payments. Rent, credit cards, phone bill, anything. Being late on these can be reported to credit check most folks haven’t even heard of, and impact your future.

4. Use your credit…some
Part of the known factors that go into a creditscore is the amount of your available credit you’re using. A decent rule for this is to not go over 30-50% of your available credit. So, if you have $100 credit limit, please don;t go over $500. It can be hard to do, but it shows good habits and usually does help your credit score.

5. Apply for new credit
As mentioned above, increasing your available credit can help your score…if you don’t use it much or at all. If you’ve had a limit of $1000 and have been paying it on time or off monthly, your limit should be able to be increased fairly quickly. If you have your credit card with your bank, like Chase, they should be able to see factors other cards may not and be able to up your limit.

Improving your credit is a big boost to your overall financial health. Follow the above steps to take your credit to the next level.