Commercials that advertise ways to obtain a free credit report often emphasize the importance of doing so because of the serious problems you can run into because of having a negative credit history. A person with a negative credit history will have an impaired ability to borrow money, get a good interest rate, and sometimes even get a good job.

The good news is that if you have negative credit, all is not lost. This record is not really permanent. Most of the bad information will be removed from your credit history after seven years from the last infractions.

This is why it is so important to manage and care for your credit history. Although mistakes can be repaired, it will take at least seven years to make those repairs.

Your credit history will be negatively impacted by late payments on rotating credit and loans. For that reason, paying such debts in a timely manner is very important. Having proof that you have been able to pay bills on time for one entire year is important when you meet a lender to borrow money. Some people are not organized and thus have a hard time making on time payments. If this is the case for you, be sure to pay off your bills as soon as possible.

There are times when you get behind on the payments and work out a payoff arrangement with credit card companies or store cards. This is a smart thing for you to do in the long run (but only if you cut up the cards and don't get any more credit lines), but it could be a negative strain on your credit history in the short run. Settlements of any kind will put a mark on your credit history.

Bankruptcy is definitely a negative on your credit history. It is one of the few negative financial situations that could remain in your credit history for more than seven years.

Keep in mind that this is the picture the lenders are looking at to see how reliable you are at paying your debts. Chapter 13 bankruptcies will remain on your history for seven years, but a Chapter 7 bankruptcy (where you don't have to pay money back) will remain for ten years.

Loans are often offered to people with a negative credit history at interest rates three or four percent higher than normal. The financial decisions you make now can potentially affect you for the next seven or even ten years, so make sure that you take care when it comes to your finances.