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I recently have tried to get a free credit report, and it is pretty simple. All you must do to access a free credit report is to be declined for credit, then you can contact the companies, and they will allow you to access your credit report for nothing. I have been working with my credit report and trying to sort out the information on it, to determine how to get some help with credit repair. I found this information very helpful to try and get my credit back on track.

First there are 5 important things that you must know about your credit score:

" Paying Your Bills on Time- 35% This is a big factor, over 1/3 of your score. There are good things and bad things about this. The good thing is, this category doesn't care if you pay off your entire balance every month or just the minimum. It just cares that at least your minimum is paid every month on time. The bad news is that if you are constantly late, it will make a big dent in your FICO score.

" Debt to Available Credit Ratio- 30% This is the second most important factor in the credit score puzzle. Your potential lenders want to see that you can use credit responsibly. They want to see that even if you have a limit of $10,000; you are responsible enough not to charge up the entire balance. So, add up all the available credit limits of your credit cards; then add up all the balances. Obviously, the lower the debt-to-limit ratios are the better. So, if you owe a total of $8,000 and you only have $10,000 in available credit, your 80% ratio is not good. Pay down your debt, and also think about calling your creditors and asking them for a higher credit limit. This will help, but ONLY if you are smart enough not to use that higher limit to charge more.

" Length of Credit History- 15% The longer your credit history, the better it is for you. Don't even think about closing your older credit accounts. Keep them open. Closing your oldest card will only shorten your credit history.

" New Accounts and Recent Applications for Credit- 10% Try not to apply for too much credit in a short time. It will look like you are hurting for money. Don't apply for a car loan the same month you get a line of credit at a furniture store. Try to space out your credit applications as best as you can.

" Types of Credit & Loans- 10% It looks favorable for you to have a variety mix of credit. Perhaps one or two major credit cards, a retail store card, a student loan and a car loan would be an example of a varied mix. Having $15,000 of debt spread out over 3 different types of loans will look better than the same amount all stacked up in just credit cards. It shows you can be responsible for different loans.