CLEVELAND -- The national economy might be in bad shape, but your credit score doesn't have to be. There are several steps to clean up your credit that you can start right now.

Planning the monthly budget is a ritual for the The Simpson family. Like many, they racked up debt in college and worked hard to repair their credit.

The Simpsons are now homeowners, with a good credit score. So how did they do it? They got advice for free from a consumer counseling agency. You need to make sure you go with a reputable counseling agency and not one that will make you pay high fees and turn around and not pay your bills on time.

Pat Piper, a bank executive, said, "Paying all your bills on time every month is the most important thing, because even 30 days behind, can blemish your credit report." So, if you know you can't pay, pick up the phone and contact your creditors. If you wait too long, the unpaid debt will be reported to a collection agency.

Simpson called her creditors and said, "I am sorry. I know I owe you money and it's my responsibility to pay you. Can we make an arrangement?"

Make the effort to pay down or pay off your debt, but don't close all your accounts. That can actually hurt your credit score.

Piper suggested, "You should also consider keeping the cards that you've had for the longest period of time because you have already built history with those cards and that's helping your credit report."

To pay down student loans, Jessica Lannan used a method some call "the snowball effect." It's like paying off a car, then acting like the car payment still exists, you just give the money to a different lender.

"There is freedom and I can go out and shop and buy things and it's not going to break my budget," Lannan said.

When it comes to paying your bills, the longer you pay your bills on time, the better your credit score. Be aware of your debt-to-income ratio, or how much total debt you have compared to how much total income you have coming in each month. Experts say consistently reducing overall debt can look as good as showing regularly increasing income.

You can have credit cards, but manage them responsibly. Look for opportunities to consolidate higher interest debt.

Don't forget to review your credit report every year. Look out for errors, and if you find any, dispute them. Remember to seek out one of the three credit reporting agencies, which offer free annual credit reports. Those agencies are Equifax, TransUnion and Experian.

Improving your credit is a long-term goal, like buying a house or saving for retirement. So if you've had poor credit in the past and you're working towards improving it, be patient. It will take some time.