How rebuilding credit is like losing weight.

Getting healthy credit score is a lot like getting a healthier body. Both come with the same challenges, the same headaches, and the same rewards.

Consider:

Everyone is different. People get into trouble with credit for different reasons: job loss, identity theft, inaccurate reporting from the bureaus, or simply poor credit management. Some people may have just a handful of collections and inquiries to clear up, while others have all that plus bankruptcies, foreclosures and judgments. And not all of these credit report items are handled in quite the same way.

You have to do your own part. There's no magic bullet. Even if you get good professional assistance, you still have to practice good credit-managing habits, like paying your bills on time (even a little ahead of time, if you can) and managing your accounts properly.

You can get misled. Just as there are countless ways to lose weight, there are also countless ways to deal with credit. Since the bureaus don't want to give away their "secret sauce" recipe for calculating credit scores, an entire industry has sprung up to help people with their credit, and not all service providers are the same.

Ignoring it won't make it go away. Just as an unhealthy body affects you every day of your life in ways you may not know, so does an unhealthy credit profile, and you may not know the extent of it until you suddenly need to make a major expense or you lose your job. Even people with great credit have to be vigilant, because they are more vulnerable to identity fraud and other cons that could ruin their profile.

It's not just a temporary fix, it's a lifestyle. Once people see an improvement in their credit score, the temptation is to fall back into old habits and quickly find yourself back in debt with collectors calling you. You have to make good credit a way of life for the restoration process to make the biggest difference.

3 Sneaky Things Hurting Your Credit

When it comes to understanding your credit, it can feel as complicated as trying to solve a Rubik's cube. Frustrated by this confusion, many consumers neglect their credit, which can have a devastating impact on their financial futures.

 A Consumer Action study recently revealed that 27 percent of Americans have never checked their credit report. That's alarming, because it's estimated that a large numbers of consumers have errors on their credit reports that could damage their credit.

1. Wrong Information

The wrong personal information on your credit report could hurt your credit. This could be things like your name, your home address, where you've worked in the past or even your Social Security number. How does a wrong address hurt your credit? Your information may be mixed up with someone else's, especially if you have a common name, or are a "Jr." or "Sr." Or it could indicate identity theft -- and that could really wreak havoc with your credit. By reviewing your credit report, you'll be able to quickly see if there's any information that needs to be updated or changed.

2. High Balances Compared to Limits

Another sneaky thing that could hurt you is your credit card balances -- even those you pay in full. How can a credit card that you pay off hurt your credit? Issuers typically report your balances as of the statement closing date. But then those cards aren't due until about a month later. So in the meantime the balance on your reports may look high in comparison to your credit limits.

Generally you want the balance on each card to stay below 20 percent to 25 percent of your available credit. If you have a retail card with a small limit or a reward card that you use to pay for everything to earn lots of points, then this factor could come back to bite you.

So you need to either pay your charges off before the statement closing date or ask for a higher credit limit. Of course, a higher credit limit should not be an invitation to overspend. You won't improve your credit scores if you get in over your head with debt.

3. Outstanding or Delinquent Bills

The third sneaky thing that could hurt your credit score could be outstanding or delinquent bills. I canceled a gym membership when I moved, and it wasn't until I checked my credit report several years later that I found out the gym was marking me as being delinquent, which was hurting my credit. You'll want to check your credit report to make sure that you have no outstanding bills or any delinquent bills that you need to get addressed.

For my delinquent gym membership, I contacted its home office and explained that I had moved and their closest location was more than hours away. After that short and painless phone conversation, it removed the delinquency, and my credit was repaired.

Review your credit report and make sure you're not being marked for anything delinquent that could be damaging your credit. This could be old gym memberships like mine, credit cards or medical bills.

"I've seen numerous situations where consumers were shocked to learn that medical bills they thought their insurance had taken care of were on their credit reports as collection accounts, " warns Gerri Detweiler, director of consumer education with Credit.com. "It doesn't matter if the amount is small. Any collection account can drop your credit score 25, 50, even 75 points or more."