Lite the Fuse: 6 Low- and No-Cost Start-up Steps You Can Take Right Now

Ready to get into action and give yourself some credit? Here are 6 low- and no-cost steps you can take this week. The are all easy and cost very little or nothing at all.

Hidden in this list is the fuse that will light an explosion of momentum in your credit building project. Good luck!

1) Get organized
Create a list of ALL your creditors including lender, address, contact telephone, current balance, current minimum payment, monthly payment date and interest rate. (COST = FREE)

2) Pay all bills on time
Create a schedule and way of reminding yourself to pay all bills on time. Examples: place reminders in Outlook, your cell phone calendar, the calendar on the wall, or by setting up auto-pays (make sure you control thru your bank's on-line payment system, if they offer it, NOT an auto debit with the lender). Whatever system works best for you -- maybe split up your accounts with your spouse so you can share the burden. (COST = FREE)

3) Pay down balances
Prioritize your balances and bring ALL past due accounts current ASAP. Then, target those accounts you can bring below 50% debt to credit limit ratio. The more active accounts in good standing with balances below 50%, the stronger your score. (COST = FREE)

4) Get educated
Visit http://www.myfico.com/ and http://www.truecredit.com/. Downloand and read "Your Credit Score" and the other free resources available from myFICO, sponsored by Fair Isaac--the company that actually creates the scores. They are the best source for your TRUE Fico score. myFICO offers a free 30-day trial for their credit monitoring service, but we recommend you use TrueCredit, which offers more complete credit reports and it's own credit monitoring service. Set your account up for $14.95/month, no contract, and free for the first 30 days. Review for mistakes and inaccuracies you can begin challenging. (COST = FREE 30 days, then $15/month)

5) Get your credit report
Visit http://www.annualcreditreport.com/ and order your free credit report (no scores) -- one from each bureau. Review for mistakes and inaccuracies you can begin challenging. (COST - FREE)

6) Set up and follow a budget
You Need a Budget -- yes, you! Go to http://www.youneedabudget.com/ and invest $20-40 towards your financial future. This system will have you living off last month's income (vs. this month's) in no time and give you some power back in terms of managing your cash flow. Awesome product, easy to use, simple to understand. I use it and everyone with cashflow problems should as well. (COST = $40 or less)

BONUS: Get plugged in!
Go to http://www.getcreditwise.net/ and put it on your favorites list. Find more bonuses there. Put the next Chicago Get Credit Wise Club meeting on your calendar. Do it NOW! (COST = FREE, . . . ALWAYS)