Fair Isaac decided to alter their FICO scoring system recently for the first time in over 20 years. As employers cut back during this dismal present economy, you may have found your yearly raises or bonuses have all but disappeared. The credit card companies are actively cutting credit limits and closing accounts to limit their exposure during unstable economic times.

All of these factors have commonality when it comes to your individual credit. There is nothing you can do about them and they all can negatively affect your credit score.

However, the basics of credit score improvement have not changed too much and can still be achieved by just managing your money responsibly and keeping watch over your credit report for problems. So, of course, the first step you need to take is to request a copy of your personal credit report. Your personal report is available any time from the 3 major credit bureaus or their joint website, annualcreditreport.com. But, in fact, there are three ways you can implement right now to improve FICO scores and repair your credit even without your report:

Improve Your Payment History

Your payment history makes up approximately 35% of your total credit score and is the primary factor that all your potential lenders will begin analyzing. That means, you could have a laundry list of good credit references when applying for a loan, but as soon as potential lenders see one or two late payments on your record, there's a good chance a rejection is in your near future. So, make it your first priority to start paying those monthly bills on time if you aren't currently. Remember, even some of your utilities may report to the credit bureaus these days, so you need to concentrate on prompt payments every month. No excuses.

Start Improving Your Debt To Credit Ratio

You can improve your FICO scores by almost 1/3 (30%) just by keeping the amount of debt you carry at a low amount compared to your credit limits. Lenders like to see active use of credit each month, but in moderation (between 10%-30% of your present credit limits). For example, if you have a credit card with a $1000 limit, use it regularly without exceeding $300 per month. Your potential lenders want to see that you use credit often, but you do not rely on it to survive. So, if you can discipline yourself to use credit sparingly but often, you stand a better chance at keeping those accounts open and steadily improving your credit history.

Start Improving Your Credit History

This last method to improve FICO scores might shock you a bit, as it is not as intuitive as simply using credit moderately and paying bills on time.Keep your older accounts open. That's right, don't close them.

Even if you've had a few difficulties with them in the past, if you have an older account that you are now paying promptly, just leave it be. Closing old accounts en masse can make your credit history appear much shorter and ultimately hurt your credit score. So, don't touch.

Your personal credit history is roughly 15% of your total credit score, so it also deserves your full attention. In a nutshell, it's best to go ahead and get your report. Then sit down and make an educated, comprehensive plan of attack before blindly jumping into credit repair.

Working to improve FICO scores may not be as simple or straight-forward to do as it once was, but you can accomplish it in less time than you may think if you remain determined. And finally taking control over your finances can not only be rewarding and satisfying, but it will utlimately give you a more successful life in total as you now qualify for the home and auto loans you really want.