So maybe you went a little crazy in college and racked up some debt?

Or maybe you hit a mid life crisis and went a little crazy and racked up some debt?

Perhaps you got hit with some medical bills and racked up some debt?

Maybe you're the guy who just puts his credit card statement on the counter and then forgets it.

No matter how you may have gotten there, most people find that they've done something to mess up their credit at some point in their lives. And hey, even if you didn't, it could be messed up without any help from you at all. The thing is, if you want to buy a house, you're going to need a decent score. Gone are the days of the la la la la I can't hear you and don't want to know anything about you loans. So what can you do to fix what you've messed up?

Step 1: Know thyself

You can't fix it if you don't know it's broken. Credit bureaus have to give you one free copy of your own credit report every year. If you have applied and been turned down for credit they have to give you another one. Don't get caught up in the catchy tunes on the commercials. The official site to get your report is www.annualcreditreport.com. You can usually download your report immediately. Be sure you get all three - there are almost always discrepancies from one to another. Make sure that any accounts that you have closed say so on your report. Verify the credit limits listed and if there is any derogatory information, find out if it is legit. Any errors that you find, and you will find errors, can usually be disputed online.

Step 2: Know thy score

Once you've cleaned up any mistakes on your credit report , check in with www.MyFICO.com and purchase your scores from all 3 bureaus. It will cost you about $15 for each one - search for promo codes online first and you may get lucky and find a discount. Other sites will sell you scores but they aren't always usually true FICO scores (the number lenders use to mercilessly rank you against your peers). This will give you a baseline and tell you whether or not you're going to be working on this for a long time or a little time. A side benefit of MyFICO.com - there is a forum there with credit geeks galore who love to dish out advice. You may need to take some of the tips with a grain of salt but believe me, these people have been there and done that. Most of them came from credit hell and have clawed their way back to credit purgatory or even credit heaven. They luurrrrvvvve to talk credit scores.

Step 3: Know thy bills

If you have a payment due, Pay. It. On. Time. Every. Single. Time. No. Exceptions. The fastest way to watch your credit score circle the toilet is to miss a payment.

Don't do it. Ever.

Really. Never.

Never, ever, ever.

Come back later and read whether or not you should close your credit cards as well as what you should do about outstanding collection accounts. ..