Your credit score impacts more than just your ability to secure a low interest rate on a loan or credit card. Today, non-lenders are relying on credit scores as a benchmark to determine eligibility and rates for homeowners and car insurance and rebuilding credit could save you thousands of dollars each year.

A correlation has been drawn between lower credit scores and a driver’s potential to have a car accident, so the lower your credit score, the higher your premium. For example, on a $40,000 automobile, you could be looking saving over $500 a year if you can secure a preferred credit rating. If your credit score doesn’t qualify you for a preferred rating, it’s smart to take a look at credit repair. A great starting point is to pull you free annual credit report to see where you stand. If you can hold out a few months to repair your credit score by disputing any negative events or paying down some debt, you may get a lower interest rate, which could save you hundreds of dollars annually.

NellieMae, a company that administers the Federal Family Education Loan Program, reports that 81 percent of college students own at least one credit card. Credit card companies are actually recruiting young customers on site at college campuses. In today’s economy, this doesn’t make much sense, but the credit companies make money when customers default on their payments, which is mostly what they are counting on when targeting young adults. The biggest travesty is that poor credit management could haunt our college youth and affect their success for years to come.

So, how do the future CEOs of America repair their credit score? The first credit repair strategy is as simple as creating a workable budget. One must keep in mind this budget should include all expenses; from books, class costs… to groceries. The key here is you must be prepared to cut back wherever possible. The next step toward rebuilding credit is to commit to paying your credit balance each on time month and making a goal of paying over the minimum payment because it’s only when you pay over the minimum you are able to truly work towards paying off your balance and establishing a positive credit history.