• You do not have to pay a professional to fix your credit.Buena Vista Images/Stockbyte/Getty Images
  
  You should get your credit report, and evaluate your credit score, prior to making a major purchase such as a home or a car. Your credit score is one of the key elements used to determine if you qualify for a loan, and what interest rate you will pay, according to financial expert Liz Puliam Weston, writing for MSN Money. If you want to improve your credit score or repair your credit, and you cannot afford professional assistance, there are free credit repair tools that you can use.
  
  

Clean Up Your Credit Report

• Each American consumer is entitled to one free credit report from each of the three major credit reporting agencies every 12 months, according to the Federal Trade Commission. One of the ways that you can improve your credit score is to request a copy of your free credit report and the make sure all of the information is correct. Review all of your personal information, including the information regarding your past addresses.
  
  If you see any credit accounts on your report that have inaccurate information, or are not your accounts, then use the dispute process outlined on each credit report to have the reporting agency verify the information. It can take up to 45 days for the information to be verified, but the corrected information will help improve your credit score. Be sure to go through the process for each individual reporting agency, as you want to be certain that all of your credit reports get updated properly.
  
  

Credit Card Limits

• By following some simple rules regarding your credit cards, you can help to improve your credit score without using any additional funds. Pay your credit card bills on time, and pay at least the minimum monthly payments. After two or three months of paying your bills on time, you will see your credit score go up.
  
  Review your free credit reports to make sure the correct credit limit for each account is reflected. Part of your credit score depends on the percentage of your credit balance versus your credit limit. If your credit limits are too low on your credit reports, then that percentage is higher than it should be. By asking your creditors to update your account limits on your credit report, you are improving your balance to available credit ratio.
  
  

Closing Credit Card Accounts

• In order to improve your credit score, you need to keep your cards active. Each consumer should carry no more than four credit cards, including department store cards or gas cards, according to credit expert Dani Arthur, writing on the Bankrate website. If you have more than four credit cards, then begin closing the accounts as you pay them off.
  
  But it helps to have a system for closing credit card accounts in order to repair your credit. Close newer cards, and leave older accounts open and active. A long credit history, with an account in good standing, is much more valuable to your credit score than a newer account. Once you have closed your account, make sure that the creditor reports the account as closed by the consumer. That will show that you are actively maintaining your credit.