With rampant unemployment and the economy still tanking, consumers’ credit scores continue to nosedive. A recent online article at TIME Magazine outlines five ways to improve your credit score. The author suggests that you keep your payments current on your bills, look to a credit counseling organization for help, negotiate debt settlements, request a “pay-for-delete” agreement from a debt collector whereby you pay off the debt and they remove the negative item from your credit report, and try and obtain a secured credit card.

Those suggestions are all quite valid. But what the author doesn’t mention is that repairing credit can be a Herculean task, one that takes a significant emotional toll. Keeping current on your bills is a great place to start, and if you have the money, the easiest step to take. Using a credit counseling organization can be helpful to some people, but others have had bad experiences with credit counselors. Some consumers find that it’s more beneficial to turn to someone who can help with next two suggestions, namely negotiating debt settlements and arranging for “pay-for-deletes” with debt collection agencies. That’s because the greater the number of negative line items you can have removed from your credit report, the better your credit score will be. Once your credit score is as tidy as possible, then you can try for a secured line of credit. In order to obtain a secured credit card, you have to pay a deposit upfront that represents your line of credit. Unfortunately, those that issue secured credit cards often charge a substantial annual fee, so it’s not an ideal situation.

While the TIME article offers valuable suggestions, many consumers don’t take the first step, namely obtaining copies of their credit reports. Federal law mandates that each of the big three consumer reporting agencies (Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax) provide you with one free report every 12 months, as well as a free report if you’ve been turned down for credit, housing, or employment due to something in your credit report. All too often, credit reports have errors that can severely damage your credit. Your credit score might be tarnished due to identity theft, due to debt collectors unethically or illegally messing with your credit report, or due to mistaken identity or simple credit errors. Cleaning up errors can also be time consuming and overwhelming, but will definitely pay off in the long run.