If you’ve run into hard financial times in the past, you don’t have to let them negatively impact your credit history forever. When you’re ready to take control of your credit history again, you have many options available to you and many steps you can take.

While these are not your only options for improving your credit history, they’re examples of ways you can repair some of those past problems. It’s up to you to take them and other methods available to you to put together your own credit repair plan.

1. Check your credit file and report any errors.

Incorrect information in your credit file can make you appear to have a bad credit history even if you did nothing wrong in the past. You should also look for unfamiliar accounts or any other signs that you may have been a victim of credit card fraud.

2. Get back on a regular payment schedule for all outstanding debts.

Even if it just means getting back to making your minimum payments on time, it’s a step in the right direction. If you’re behind on several accounts, get one up to date at a time if that makes things easier. Just keep taking steps, no matter how small, and it will help you improve your credit history over time as your status updates in your credit file.

3. Increase your total income.

This might be one of the more difficult steps to take, but it can help you get back on track with your payments. A higher income also might help you increase your chances of being approved for credit in the future. You might sell things you no longer want online. You could get a part-time job for a while. Or you could freelance to make some extra money.

4. Establish positive new patterns in your credit file.

It’s just as important to have new positive information reflected there as it is to fix problems. One way to do this is to get a new account. For example, if you’re able to get approved for a balance transfer credit card like the Aussie MasterCard you could use that to eliminate one outstanding debt through a transfer. Then by staying on top of payments on that new card, you can build a fresh positive history in addition to trying to repair problems with older delinquent accounts.

Don’t let the prospect of repairing your credit history overwhelm you. Every little step you can make to improve your situation helps. Do what you can right now. And work out a longer term plan to address the larger issues you can’t completely deal with immediately. The most important thing is to get started.