<prompt> Human: Im 33, in London UK. In a particularly bad period about 5 years ago I ended up in a cycle of payday loans to pay loans to pay overdraft. When it got to much I took out a final loan and then defaulted on everything, moved my active bank account to a cash only with another bank. Ive cleared a number of debt, and not made payments on others for long enough to see them settled. The last is the 2.5k overdraft - which is likely to fall off in a year or so. Credit rating is shot, understandably. I want to get myself the highest credit rating, and cleanest account, possible in the next 2 years so I can join my SO on a mortgage for our next house currently under her name.I earn 45000 annually bonus 3-6k. Id welcome your thoughts. Im terrible at saving and personal finance. Basically fighting fires for the past 7 odd years. Thanks  <response>: This may be a better question for rukpersonalfinance.If you were US based, I would tell you to pay the debt then continue living responsibly. Dont take on debt simply to build credit. If you have a credit card, use it responsibly and pay it off in full every month. 