In the U.S. part of having a good, sound financial portfolio is making sure your credit is in shape. After all, you can't get good loan rates if you want to make real estate part of your investment strategy. Because I know that there are many people out there who are up to their ears in debt, I wanted to share some information and tips to help get the credit situation back up to par...

Back in my early 20's I made the mistake of taking on too much credit and not being able to pay back some of those loans. There were car loans and unnecessary credit card purchases which put me in the hole thousands of dollars. Toward my late 20's I finally shaped up and decided to work on my own credit repair. I did it all by myself which took quite a few years and I still have yet to get everything cleared up!

I recently found out about a credit repair company called Ovation Law that helps people with credit report repairs. However, before hiring any company to help you out, make sure to check out these tips to protect you from credit repair scams.

If you're thinking about fixing your credit on your own, here are a few tips from my own experience:

• If you want to dispute an item on your credit report, make sure to send a certified letter to all three credit bureaus.

• Have a calender to keep track of when you sent out the letters. The credit bureaus have to investigate and respond back to you within 30 days or else they have to remove the item in question.

• Be persistent.