Anyone burdened with bad credit has a distinctive story.

A widowed mother burdened with $35,000 worth of credit card debt and unpaid bills. A young couple going through chemo fell behind on bills and is going through foreclosure. A family with a child who is terminally sick.

Knowing where to start is one of the hardest components about paying off debt and improving your credit score.

First, you need to understand what you’re struggling with to generate a reconstruction plan.

The credit bureau will provide you with your credit report. You can get a free copy from each of the three primary credit reporting offices once every 12 months.

If you want to take a closer eye on your credit, get your Credit Sesame ‘Credit Report Card’, free of charge. This website describes precisely what is in layman’s terms on your credit report, how it impacts your score and what you should do to fix it.

People who have used Credit Sesame informed us that it’s a life-changer. In fact, 60% of participants see a rise in their credit score; 50% see a rise of at least 10 points, and 20% see a rise of at least 60 points after 175 days.

Here are 3 stories of individuals that used Credit Sesame and turned their credit score around:

Michelle Copper: +277 Points

Michelle Copper understands everything about bad credit. As lately as 2017, she had a lousy 523 credit score.

“Money was never an issue with my job and normal allowance,” she says. “I had $35,000 worth of unpaid bills.” She vowed to sort out his financial situation and fix her credit after her husband unexpectedly passed away a couple years ago and left her work endlessly to feed the family he left behind.

While there are legitimate credit repair agencies, there are also shady ones that request funds in advance and pledge much more than they can bring. It’s not until it’s too late that you notice they milked you.

Working three jobs and fighting to pay the debt and mortgage, Michelle discovered Credit Sesame. She was instructed on how to solve her loan by the free credit tracking service. Michelle raised her score by 277 points, from 523 to 800 in just six months.

Michelle now teaches her children the importance to save money for emergencies and unexpected life surprises.

Mike Carnim: +120 Points

The housing bubble collapsed in 2008 and left many American families affected. The three-bedroom house in Buena Park, California, where Mike Carnim and his spouse, Monica, had been living in for 12 years, was lost to foreclosure.

Then Monica was diagnosed with breast cancer. They went through a lot together, especially that year. After months of chemo, Monica finally recovered, and Mike was able to go back to work. By 2016, they were back on their feet, but with a lot of debt and bad credit.

“Honestly, I was avoiding checking my credit history because I knew it would bring back a lot of memories of misfortunes and pain,” Mike said.

Mike hadn’t bothered to verify his credit score for years before he came across Credit Sesame. He says finally getting his career on stable ground after many years of losses, encouraged him to take a peek at his score.

He has increased his rating 120 points in five months following the agency’s suggestions.

Merissa Martinez: + 217 Points

In 2011, Merissa Martinez’s 16-year-old daughter was diagnosed with leukemia.

Between continuing to care for her younger daughter and moving from Fresno, California, to Los Angeles, California to be near the best pediatric care for her daughter, she racked up credit card debt.

Merissa and her husband wanted to offer the best medical care to her younger daughter so they relocated from Fresno, California, to Los Angeles, California to be near the best pediatric care. This move and the medical bills racked up an insane amount of credit card debt.

“I used my credit cards for meals, gas for the hospital, and when desperate for medical bills,” she says. “It got to the point where all of my credit cards were maxed out and there wasn’t enough money in my checking to pay for minimum payments. It was a shock to realize how quickly everything added up within a short span of several months.”

Merissa got her story on a local news channel and through the community, she was able to raise money to support her family, the excessive bills, and the medical bills.

In late 2017 Merissa’s credit score reached 674 for the first moment after going through so many battles. It was up to 768 by the end of 2018.