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Many people today, especially recently graduated college students, are discovering exactly how much debt they really have and are taking steps to correct that. The process does not happen overnight, but you need to be concerned about what all this credit has on your credit score.

Your credit score is a number computed by the credit bureaus. There are three major credit bureaus, and since they do not share information between them, each of them has computed a different credit score for you. Based on the volumes of data they need to keep track of for each consumer, it is also alarming to note that the majority of consumer's credit reports have errors in them. So your first step in raising your credit score is to get a copy of your credit report from each of the credit bureaus, and then go over the reports with a fine tooth comb to discover those errors and get them corrected. This correction process does not happen automatically, and the ONLY way the inaccurate data gets corrected is if YOU dispute it with the credit bureau.

Next, take a detailed look at your outstanding credit obligations and determine your best course of action. If you have $10,000 in debt and that is scattered over various credit cards, each of which is close to being maxed out, and each of them charging you outrageous interest rates like 20% or more, you may wish to consider debt consolidation. With this process, you have only ONE payment and ONE interest rate, usually fairly reasonable, and the loan you get is used to pay off your existing accounts.

But beware the dangers of a debt consolidation loan. After the debt consolidation, you may be excited to find that you now have a dozen credit cards with a zero balance, and the temptation to go on a huge shopping spree will be huge. But that will only put you right back to where you were before, and in an even worse situation, so you need to keep a level head about you, and NOT yield to that temptation.

The best thing you can do, above all else, is to pay your bills on time. Make more than the minimum payment due, and make the payment sufficiently ahead of time to make sure it will get posted to your account before the due date. Timely payments on an account are the biggest factor that affects your credit score, although it is obviously not the only criteria. Also, late fees can add up quickly, in addition to lowering your credit score.

If you are a new college graduate or have had credit problems in the past due to things that are no longer issues, you need to re-establish your credit worthiness. This can most easily be done by getting a secured credit card, where your credit limit is determined by the amount of money you have on deposit with the credit card issuer. Use the card sparingly, but pay it off completely at the end of the month, and make sure that payment is made on time. This will go a long ways towards establishing or re-establishing your credit history and raising your credit score.

If you can, get a co-signer for a credit card. For a new college graduate, that may be your parents. Again, use the card sparingly and pay it off completely at the end of the month.

Remember, you are establishing your credit worthiness or re-establishing your credit, so do everything you can do to show that you are a good credit risk. With a credit card, keep in mind that you are "renting money", and the cost of that rent can be very high, so be sure you use it wisely.