I have 39 k out on credit i have 60 k worth paid off in full and never being late also with my credit now i have never been late with payments but my credit score is 623 when a yr ago it was in the seven hundreds now i had forgot to pay sprint for a closing fee so they reported me about a yr ago last month im just finding this out so i payed now i no it will take a few months for that to show that it was payed and my score should go up a little but not were it once was. I plan on trying to buy or a build a home in the next two yrs and i would like my credit score to be much higher but i no i wont have all 39 k paid off by then but im trying to double on my payments when i can is there anyway i can raise my score safely in the mean time? come to find out just cause you pay your bills on time our you pay them off on time does not raise you credit so here are some ? i hope someone can help me with

1. How can i raise my score while in dept.
2. My truck loan is 8.2 % with my low credit score can i get a better deal some where else and if so where?
3. I also have 8200 worth of credit out with Yamaha my rate was 0% now it shot up to 22 % can i also find someone else to switch to for a better rate?

I have a lot of ? because i was so foolish with my credit in the past now that im older and more responsible i would like to do better just not sure what to do. Any advice would help thanx

Austin