Has your credit score taken a nose dive? Lots of credit scores certainly have recently. That’s because with all the job losses, investment woes, and bank shenanigans, staying current with all of your bills has been tough. A few late payments, a missed installment or two and there you go – your once proud credit report score has plummeted.

So what can you do to improve the situation? We’ll here’s a tip that will help but you must understand that it takes diligence and care to execute it properly. And not everyone is in a position to do this either, but if you are, it can help you rebuild your credit.

Pick one of your monthly bills and set up an automatic payment on it from your credit card. Try to make this a bill that has a fixed amount each month if you can. Only set it up if you have complete control over it. By that I mean don’t allow the creditor to have control over your card. You must be able to shut down the payment anytime you might want to. Note that you could do this by using a prepaid debit card but that won’t help improve your overall credit score.

Once that payment is set up it’s time for step two. Go ahead and set up another automatic payment but this time set it up so your bank account pays your credit card bill each month. Make it for an amount that will cover the first payment and a little bit more if you can swing it. Be careful with the timing on this. It needs to hit before your deadline but after the first charge.

Now make sure to monitor both of these payments closely. You don’t want any surprises because of an unexpected charge or balance issue. Just pay attention and make sure everything is happening just the way you want it to.

What you’ll end up with is a series of regular charges each and every month. You’ll also have another series of regular monthly payments. These regular debits and credits build up over time to create a history of solid credit management which is one of the cornerstones of a strong credit score.

In order for this to work you must take absolute control of your credit card spending and not let it get out of control (so you might want to look at some financial tools like debit cards for bad credit). In fact, you should curtail your spending considerably and not make any small or large purchases with your credit card unless you really must. Because if you let your balance creep up too high, you probably won’t be able to work this credit score improvement tip to its fullest.

If you can make this work with a single monthly bill, expand it to a second bill. As long as you can continue to scrutinize your bank statements and stay within the plan, expanding to more bills is beneficial. Of course for this tip to work you must be in control of your other spending and you must be paying all of your bills on time otherwise this won’t have much positive effect at all.

Ultimately, you may see your credit improve to the point that the credit card company raises your credit limit and offers you some other perks as well. Be careful! Don’t succumb to the flattery. Stay on the path. Improving your credit score takes time and discipline – use both generously.