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There are many limitations to personal finance if you don’t have a good credit score. A bad credit score can keep you from getting favorable rates on a college loan or a first mortgage to buy a home. People don’t get into credit trouble overnight. It generally takes several years of late payments or stalled balances to damage your credit score. For some, the road to repairing credit seems insurmountable. Fortunately, there are measures you can take to repair your credit score and get back on your feet.

The first way to improve your credit score is to get a free credit report. There are three major credit bureaus that offer a free annual report. It’s best to check your score with all three bureaus as there is always a chance that just one of the credit bureaus has a potentially damaging inaccuracy. Short term money problems can be solved through payday loans, but long term financial health requires paying down of debt.

The best first step towards healthy personal finance is to pay down high interest credit cards. Many people hold credit card balances with a 20 percent or higher interest rate attached. If you’re making minimum monthly payments on this debt, it can take decades to pay it all off. Locate your credit cards with the highest interest rates and pay them down immediately. Also, stop using these cards as soon as possible unless you can negotiate a lower rate.

Financial freedom comes when you are no longer paying other people high interest to borrow money. Address the high interest credit cards and loans on your report immediately.