Having bad credit can make you feel like you’ve lost not just control over your finances, but over your entire life. Almost everything – from signing a housing lease to landing a job – can depend on whether or not you have a reliable credit history.

But there are ways you can optimize your credit repair without having to constantly feel victim to your former mistakes.

Explain yourself on your reports. You have the legal right to write. Meaning you can file a short statement with all three credit bureaus that will show up on your reports. Don’t delve into excuses. Focus on making this one important point: The problem has now been cleared up.

Get a secured credit card. You’ll need to come up with a sum that functions as something of a security deposit for the bank should you default on payments. Other than that the fact the card is basically prepaid, it works (and counts on your credit report) just the same.

Dispute a mark you didn’t create. Don’t be afraid to fight for your rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The creditors are under obligations to follow the law as well and must be able to prove you wrong in a limited amount of time. This article talks about how as many as 79% of all reports have errors on them.

Timeline your statute of limitations. Every state has a ticking clock on the amount of time a creditor has to collect on a debt. Find out what yours is for each and any claimed debt owed. Estimate if it might be better to just stay under the radar and wait it out until you can remove the negative mark from your file when time’s up.

Call accounts and negotiate a new rate. If you want to make good on your owed debts, try working with the creditors yourself. Despite how stressful this sounds, always keep in mind credit card companies and third-party collections know getting something is better than nothing. But keep in mind when you do agree on a negotiation, the statute of limitations on the debt starts fresh.

Keep it a one-person team. This means staying away from debt settlement companies that continue to hurt your bottom line and credit report with fees and risky suggestions. Debt settlers don’t always come through with what you had hoped for when negotiating down what you owe. If you follow the first five suggestions, you’re taken control and won’t need additional help.