If you are reading this you have undoubtedly gotten yourself into a bit of a pickle with your finances. There are several basics to the ins and outs of credit and how credit works. Learning these principals can greatly aid in a effort to repair ones credit.
The first and most obvious practice is to make your payments on time each month for at least the minimum, preferable more. An excellent rule of thumb is to pay double the minimum payment due. Many credit card lenders have set up the minimum payment so that after interest and service charges are deducted the amount that actually goes towards reducing the balance is just a few dollars. This has the effect of keeping your balance, and interest payments, high and greatly increasing the time it will take to pay down the balance even if no new purchases are made.
While making multiple timely payments each month can be a benefit, sometimes reducing the number of outstanding credit cards can be the best strategy to employ. This can help in two ways. Paying off a credit card and closing that account will show positively on your credit report. The other advantage to doing this is that it makes making timely payments on your remaining accounts that much easier.