I am now going to list just a couple of my tips for increasing your credit score:

1.  Don't ever ever ever be late on a payment!  (Huge drop in credit score as well as a possible increase in rates on credit cards)  If you already have been late, I will give some info about how you can make up for that.

2.  Take all your revolving credit limits and add them up.  Then take 30% of that number and only use that much of that credit.  For example, I have $50,000 in credit card limits, I should therefore never carry a balance over $15,000 or 30% of my limit.  Also, keep each cards balance under 50% of that card's limit, but 30% would be the best.  If you obey these two conditions, your score will increase.

3.  Make sure you have different types of loans...Revolving credit (credit cards), installment loans (mortgage and auto loans), and other utilities.  This shows you can handle different types of credit responsibly and will increase your credit score.

4.  Do not apply to a lot of companies at once.  They all will check your credit to see if you are worthy.  This shows up as a bad thing in your credit report.  When creditors see you are trying to get credit from multiple sources, it worries them that you will not be able to handle it all and thus your score drops from these multiple inquiries. 

5.  Don't go bankrupt if you can avoid it, but if you have to, by all means do it.  This will last on your record for at least 7 years and most likely 10.  There is no way to erase this from your credit report and your score will plummet as soon as you apply for bankruptcy protection.  You can get your score right back up into the 700's though with a little bit of credit score trickery.  I will discuss that later for those who need this help.  If you are considering bankruptcy, please read my bankruptcy page...it could really help in your decision making process.

6.  Keep your credit card accounts open.  There is a fallacy that closing an account will increase your credit score.  This action actually has the opposite effect.  It hurts your length of credit history and thus lowers your credit score. Thus as a new credit card to your existing ones will lower your average age of credit and hurt you that way.  My suggestion is that if you need more credit, ask your existing companies.

INTERESTING FACTS:

If you are wondering how you stand among over people in the U.S., well I can help you with that question.  The following information is from past annual results and you can figure that the percentages are very similar for today's population:

Up to 499:     1%  
500 to 549:    5%
550 to 599:    7%
600 to 649:     11%
650 to 699:    16%
700 to 749:    20%
750 to 799:    29%
800 and up:    11%

Here are some rough percentages of what a credit score is based on:

Payment History:                     35%  (Largest part of your credit score therefore the easiest way of boosting that score!)
Amounts Owed:                        30% (See my tips from above know exactly how to manage that aspect.)
Longevity of Credit History:    15% (How long have you had accounts open or basically what is your average length of credit.)
Recent Credit:                          10% (This is where applying for multiple forms of credit comes into play.) 
Types of Credit:                        10% (Make sure you have revolving, installments, and basic forms of credit)

Now if you read this far, you are in for a treat.  Sometimes the easiest way to make your credit go through the roof is to pay off your loans.  "But we don't have enough money!!!"  I know that, because if you did, you wouldn't be worrying about your credit score.  What I did to fix mine was to start cashing in online and with cell phone advertising.  Check out our write up about how we are doing it here.