Credit repair is a subject that’s getting more and more attention as time passes. People are finding themselves with a lot of bad credit and debts to get through, but they are no longer thinking that this credit situation has to be permanent. They’re not thinking that they have to freeze up and let life pass them by. They’re not thinking that they’re never going to get out of debt.

You have more power than you think to change your financial life, and it’s time to take on that power. But there might be a question that remains: just how fast can you really handle your credit report journey? The answer is a little complicated.

You see, it just depends on what you’re trying to do. If you’re trying to get from one “block” of credit to another, you can do that in a matter of months. For example, it’s well known in the industry that any score under 600 isn’t going to get very favorable credit terms — if they get any type of credit at all. So you need to make sure that you focus on raising your score over 600 first. That might mean disputing inaccurate information, or just making sure that you start replacing your credit stuff with better information. That could mean opening up secured credit products and taking good care of them. It’s not just enough to open an account — you also want to make sure that you’re going to be able to pay them off regularly. Meeting the minimum payment is good, but you don’t want to get caught in a vicious cycle where you can’t keep up the payments. If you only pay the interest, the principal will grow and grow until you owe a lot more than what you can handle.

A secured card is a good start. In addition, you’re going to want to make sure that you’re looking at your credit report frequently. Subscribe to an online service that lets you really see the progress that you’re making with your credit report. If you only deal with the hard parts and skip seeing the rewards of all your hard work, you’re going to have a hard time staying consistent.

Consistency is really the best way to make things happen for you. If you only think about all of the challenges ahead, there’s no reason to stick out your goals. You just have to keep pushing forward and making sure that you have things under control.

If you’re trying to make a huge increase to your credit score, then you have to realize that it’s going to take some time. You’re going to have to add a lot of new positive information to your credit report and make sure that you’re sticking with it through good times and bad times.

A savings account to make sure that you aren’t putting yourself into another period of rough times isn’t a bad idea either. It’s all about knowing what you can handle, what you can’t handle, and the things that you need to get help handling. Enrolling yourself in a non-profit credit counseling course can also help you make bigger gains in the world of personal finance.

Good luck out there — don’t give up on your dreams, because then you won’t have any chance of seeing them come true!