It is well-known knowledge that maintaining your credit score is a crucial aspect of navigating everyday life. Need to be approved for a new apartment? Must have good credit. Need to be approved for a mortgage? Must have good credit. Need to be approved for anything? You need to have good credit.

Now, sometimes you (or others) may have fallen off the wagon – and it happens, but just because your credit line has dropped a few points doesn’t necessarily mean there’s no solution. Improving your credit score takes time, but the sooner you take matters into your own hands and address the issues your credit score will improve.

5 Ways to Improve Your Credit Score

Here are 5 suggestions on how to improve your credit:

• Pay your bills on time

Your payment history is the first thing to be reviewed by lenders. This is essentially their way of deciding whether or not you are reliable when it comes to paying your bills. So to keep your credit score high, it is mandatory that you pay your credit card, auto loan, mortgage, etc. right on time. Even if it’s just the minimum payment, because that’s better than no payment, right?

• Pay off your debt

Naturally, this goes without saying. Paying off your debt would immediately improve your credit score and lift a weight off your shoulders. Take the time to set aside a good portion of your student loan, mortgage, or whatever else you are expected to pay a certain month and you’ll be able to take down the debt in no time.

• Keep Credit Card Balances Low

Thought it might be a little exciting to own a credit card, you must remember that it’s important to keep your credit card balances low. Just think of your credit card as a way to purchase small items here and there. That way, you don’t overwhelm yourself with having to make large payments and you don’t run the risk of having your credit score affected.

• Apply/Open New Credit Cards only as needed

It comes without question that a few people are under the impression that the more credit cards you own, the higher your credit will be. This “fact” is, of course, incorrect. The more credit lines you open, the higher chance you have of lowering your credit score. Without the ability to keep track of which credit card is which, it would be easy to miss a payment if you’re not enrolled in autopay. So keep one or two credit cards max and only apply when necessary.

• Fix Your Late Payments

Despite what you may think, closing a credit card and ignoring your debt won’t be the answer to your problems. It might make them worse. So what you’re going to want to do is fix your late payments as soon as possible. Set up auto-pay, set up reminders. Do whatever you can to ensure that your credit score is no longer at the mercy of delinquent payments.

Low credit scores can affect any future choice you make in the end. You can be disqualified from loans at a time where it is absolutely crucial for you to apply for one. Improving your credit score with tradelines will not only look good to lenders but you’ll be able to take a breath of fresh air.