Repair Your Credit Fast Without Paying Dearly For It?

Yes! You can. Here's how....

Get a free copy of your credit report. See the Home page here if you don't know how to do it.
Review it for any errors or discrepancies. A Federal Trade Commission study found that 25% of consumers had an error on their credit report that might affect their scores.
All three repositories (Experian, Equifax, and Transunion) have multiple "dispute" buttons you can click if you want to question something. Usually the negative stuff they have on you will be at the top when you get your results. If it is actually WRONG, dispute it. If it just makes you unhappy, don't waste your time.
If you have the time, you can always try disputing everything negative. Occasionally, you might hit on one where the collection agency has bought the debt from the original creditor (that's not uncommon) and will not have enough information to prevent the negative item from being removed.
Dispute items will take a few days to process. They get up to 30 days to answer though so give it time. You should receive an email from the repository telling you your dispute is finished and you can see the result.
In the meantime, any past due accounts need to be brought current ASAP. Always pay your bills within 30 days of the due date to avoid it being reported negatively on your credit.
Any credit card balances you are carrying month to month: take the total amount you can borrow (your credit limit) and multiply it by 30%. Make a plan to get the balance down to that amount as fast as you can. Anything above 30% is hurting your credit score. Once you're there, pay the balance down to 7% or less of the credit limit. This will boost your score in 30 - 45 days. Here's how -
If you have any credit cards with large balances, immediately make a plan to pay them off. Divide the balance by 24 or 26, or however often you get paid. If the amount is too high for you to manage, divide the balance by 48 or 52 (two years' worth pf paychecks), and set this payment to pay automatically. You will save hundreds of dollars in interest by paying more than the minimum payment monthly. But always at least pay the minimum payment monthly. If this sounds impossible...it's not...

If paying your bills every month is simply a big struggle, first cut back on expenses. Divide expenses into "must haves" (housing, car payment, utilities, food for the kitchen, gas, credit card debt you have already got, daycare) and "it's nice to be able to do it" (pretty much everything else). Focus on the must haves only. Then make a plan to get a better paying job so you'll have room in your budget for the "it's nice to be able to do it" things.
Take a hard look at things like your car payment, if you have one. If your car payment is taking a lot of your monthly income, it is too high. Trade the car for one with a much lower payment. Remember cars are depreciating assets. You are not in competition with strangers at stop lights or your cousin or sister.
You are in competition ONLY with your financial goals, which should include things like retiring comfortably at the age you want. Helping your children with college or training that will improve their financial prospects. Being able to help your parents out if they need it. Travel. Starting a business, and so on.
Going forward, don't use a credit card as a way to "extend" your income. Use them for emergencies only, such a car repairs that can't wait. Vacations are a lot more fun if you have saved the money up front to pay for them instead of paying for them for months after the vacation is a distant memory. The vacation costs far more than the original price when you are paying 29% interest to "borrow" the money from your credit card.
STOP robbing Peter to pay Paul. What I mean by this is stop shifting resources without accomplishing any real gain or benefit, such as using a credit card to pay an overdue debt. The only exception is perhaps taking advantage of a 0% interest rate credit card to consolidate some others. This only works if you aggressively pay off the debt you transferred.

If you have allowed a small item to go to collection (remember not to do this in the future!), and you can pay it now, do it. Keep proof you have paid it! Start a folder (either paper or virtual) for these items you want to save. Then dispute the item and attach a copy of your receipt.
Remember paying a collection after it has already gone to collection won't help your credit as much as not letting it go to collection in the first place. Even if you disagree that you owe something, I don't recommend letting things go to collection. It is not worth having something negative on your credit for seven or more years over a pissing contest.
A judgment has gone too far for you to fix it. Paying it now will help your scores, but you can't dispute a judgment. A judgment may not be showing on your credit since Equifax, Experian, or Transunion decided in 2017 to stop showing them. However, because a judgment attaches to any real estate you own or buy in many states, it may have to be paid when you purchase, sell, or refinance a home. Same with a tax lien.
Other public records, such as a bankruptcy, you are also stuck with (unless it is actually not yours). Having a bankruptcy dismissed will be a much smaller hit that going all the way through with one.
Remember a bankruptcy attorney has an incentive for you to file bankruptcy because that is their source of income. So take all advice from a bankruptcy attorney with a grain of salt. You took out these debts. Filing bankruptcy tells lenders you don't take the responsibility very seriously.

Is There a Quick Fix For My Credit?

Honestly, No. And don't let a "credit fixing" company tell you otherwise. We are a society who wants everything NOW. Your credit didn't get stinky overnight, and the fix takes a bit of time as well.

The fastest and cheapest way is to fix what you can yourself, and always pay the minimum payment on time.

Automatic bill pay through your bank is one of the best ways to assure that bills get paid on time.

If you are receiving your bills via email, and you actually are not great about going through your email every day, you need paper bills. I get so many emails a day that I like to get a paper bill. Many creditors also send an email, so it is less likely you will miss one in the busyness of everyday life.

With bill pay set up though, you can have it pay every month. That way if you somehow miss the bill, you are still covered. Set up the bill to pay every month, even if the amount changes. Just put in an amount so that you pay something, even if you miss the bill. When reviewing your checking account, the bill being set up to pay will remind you whether you have received the actual bill amount or not.

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