1. Check Your Credit Report & Fix Any Errors

One reason for bad credit might be found on your credit reports. Not sure where your credit stands? Let's start here. Your credit reports will come from three major credit bureaus: TransUnion, Experian and Equifax. You can request your free reports from each one at www.AnnualCreditReport.com. Checking your report will give you a starting point so you'll be able to see how much you need to improve.

Unfortunately, it's not uncommon for an error to appear on your credit report, causing your report to be inaccurate. The good news is that you can dispute these errors. Keep in mind, though, that you will have to do this for each credit bureau because there may be differences in each report. Not only that, each error you find will need to be disputed seperately.

According to Experian.com, your credit score comes from the information on your credit report, and while you have multiple credit scores, the most common score that lenders use is the FICO® Score 8. FICO® scores range from 300-850, with 300-569 considered poor, 570-669 considered fair and 670 and above considered good. While FICO® Score 8 isn't used by everyone, we'll use it as our reference point. To learn more, see also this article.

2. Make Payments on Time

This can't be emphasized enough. Late payments can have the most negative impact on your credit score, causing potential lenders to be wary. Since 35% of your FICO®  score is based on your payment history, you can see how necessary it is to keep up with your payments without fail. If remembering a payment deadline is a struggle for you, try automatic payments or set reminders on your phone.

3. Stay Below Your Credit Limit

About 30% of your FICO® score is made up of how much credit you're using, also known as credit utilization. This large percentage gives you a clue to how crucial it is to not exceed your credit limit. And, according to Experian.com and Credit.com, it's best to stay below 30% of your credit utilization. But if you find this is a struggle for you, you may be able to increase your limit.

4. Be Patient

One final note: waiting might be the hardest part of the process since, of course, you want to see immediate results. But being patient and letting time do the rest is really all you can do once you've taken the necessary steps. When you've done what you can, you can look forward to eventually seeing your bad credit turn to good credit and hopefully beyond!