Thanks to a new federal law, you are now entitled to one free credit report from each of these credit reporting agencies per year.

To improve your credit rating, just get started, and remember that it won't happen overnight.

1. Order your credit reports. 2. Examine your reports carefully. 3. Double-D strategy -- dispute and document. 4. Solve and dissolve debt. 5. Add stability to your credit file.

1. Order your credit reports.
Find out what the top three credit bureaus say about your credit: Equifax, TransUnion & Experian. It's likely that they're all slightly different.

*  Creditors don't have to report to all three credit bureaus, so they typically report to the credit bureau to which they also subscribe.

Useful phone numbers and addresses:

· Federal Trade Commission consumer response center (877) 382-4357 · Equifax P.O. Box 74024, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241 (800) 685-1111 · Experian (formerly TRW) P.O. Box 2104, Allen, TX 75013-0949 (888) 397-3742 · TransUnion Corp. 760 W. Sproul Rd., Springfield, PA 19064-0390 (800) 888-4213

Time and money is wasted, says Steve Rhode, president and co-founder of Myvesta.org, if you only order a report from one credit bureau.

The reports will not automatically be sent out. Each consumer must request their reports one of these three ways: Go to annualcreditreport.com, which is the only authorized source for consumers to access their annual credit report online for free; call (877) 322-8228, or you may complete the form on the back of the Annual Credit Report Request brochure and mail it to Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA, 30348-5281.