It was incredibly easy to let your credit card debt get out of hand. Then you couldn’t meet the minimum payments and you ended up not paying anything for a couple of months. The collection phone calls started, the finance and late fees mounted quickly and you just couldn’t seem to dig your way out of the pit. Your credit is ruined beyond repair, right?

Probably not, especially if you take matters into hand now. The very first step you should take is to stop avoiding the creditors’ calls. Even better, you should contact them. Tell them your situation and ask if there’s a way to make a reasonable payment arrangement that you can actually meet. Then stick with that arrangement, even though it likely means that you won’t be using your credit card until the issue is resolved.

There are some important steps you can take toward credit repair, but the most important are to make payments on time every time, and to find some reliable credit sources as soon as possible. Remember to ask whether the potential creditor reports to the credit bureaus. If the creditor doesn’t report, you won’t be helping your credit by making timely payments.

Finally, you have to understand that fully repairing credit will take time and diligence. There’s no “quick fix.” However, if you begin using credit cards again and make timely payments, you’ll likely make a good impression on potential creditors. Some will even be willing to overlook old history if your recent payments show a responsible trend.