You rebuild credit by paying your debts on time. That’s the biggest part, and it makes sense because the score is about how safe you are to lend to. Lenders want to get paid back.

Paying off your credit cards frees you from crippling interest on debt. That doesn’t help your credit directly, but it’s important to do. But also speak to your loan lenders and make sure to do what you can to get back into their good graces. Being behind and then catching up with a payment plan is better than debt sent to collections.

Credit score is also a weird fixation. Unless you plan to buy a house or a car or need a new home lease and have an obnoxious landlord, it really has no effect on your life. If you have a newish cad, a solid place to live, and no plans for the next seven years, your credit score basically doesn’t matter and will fix itself with time and reasonably good financial behavior.