Q.

A.

How can we improve my husband's bad credit score?

It can take a few years to bring up a mediocre credit score to good standing. Banks look at credit reports to examine your history and make sure you don’t flake on bill payments. A score of 620 or higher means you’ll generally qualify for the best lending rates, while anything below 620 puts you in the risky category. But one in four reports contains errors serious enough to hurt your access to getting a loan. So your husband’s first step should be to order a copy of his credit report from one of the three major services (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion) and check it for errors. Find mistakes? Correct them immediately. Of course, he also needs to eliminate consumer debt (credit cards) -- the less he has, the better his credit score will be. And while it seems simple enough, make sure that he also pays all of his bills (credit card, phone, student and car loans) on time -- even if he’s only making the minimum payment. One to two years of on-time bill paying alone can significantly raise his score.

-- The Nest Editors

See More: Getting Out of Debt , Credit