First things first. Your Credit.

Know your credit score.

Most creditors use a FICO score (Fair Isaac Corporation) to determine your creditworthiness. Scores range from 300 to 850. A high score indicates that you are financially healthy; a low score indicates a high financial risk. To find out your score, visit www.myfico.com.

Review your credit reports.

You can receive a free copy of your credit report from each of the three credit reporting bureaus each year at www.annualcreditreport.com. You'll want to thoroughly review each report to ensure that the information listed is accurate.

Get your credit on track.

• If you find an error, report it immediately to the credit reporting agencies and ask them to send out a corrected report to anyone who's requested one in the past 6 months. For a free sample dispute letter, click here.
• Establish good payment history. Pay at least the minimum due each month and pay on time.
• Lower your debt-to-credit ratio. The bigger the difference between what you owe and your credit limit, the better your score. Pay down your balances and your credit score will improve.
• Maintain credit history. The more history you have, the more creditors have to judge you by.