While there are companies that provide financing programs for those with poor or little credit, they generally require you to put down a substantial amount up front and they charge you extremely high interest rates. If you want to get a good financing deal and save some money, you need to raise your credit score.

It won’t happen over night, but there are a few things you can do to raise your score in preparation for a home or auto purchase down the road.

The first thing you need to do is review your credit report to know where you stand. Checking your credit report is free and it only takes a few minutes, but it gives you a jumping off point for organizing your finances and improving your score. Review your report for any inaccurate information. 3 out of 4 credit reports contain errors and those mistakes could be negatively affecting your score. If you find errors on your report, contact the credit reporting agency immediately. By law, they must remove them.

Next identify the problematic areas on your credit report. Maxed out credit cards and defaulted loans do serious damage to your credit score. Begin paying down your debts and contact lenders to start a repayment plan on the accounts that have fallen behind. If you continue to make on time payments, your score will go up in a few months.

Even after you pay off debts, do not close the account. You need to maintain a long credit history in order to improve your score. Just cut up the credit card and leave the account open. If you follow these simple steps you will be on your way to improving your score.