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More than ever, your credit needs to be top-notch to get the best terms, the best rate and the best offers on your mortgage. What does that mean if you have bruised or bad credit?

You do everything you can to ensure your mortgage payments are made on time. So why is your credit score slowly getting worse? If you're like many Canadians, it's because your overall debt is climbing and you don't pay as much attention to those other loans.

Like many journeys, the road to bad credit starts with a single step – or misstep in this case. Whatever your situation, once you've started having trouble with your credit score, it can be difficult to find your own way back to a strong financial situation. But you have some money saved in your RRSP, so why shouldn't you use that to get out of debt? While it seems like an easy solution now, you might regret your decision in the future.

For the past few years, credit has been easy to come by for most Canadians. However, for every individual who manages their credit well, there are horror stories of monster loans and mountains of debt. According to an annual report by credit agency TransUnion, individual debt among Canadians is increasing. A typical individual is currently carrying $21,686 in debt, not including their mortgage – an increase of 2.3% from the same time in 2015.

You’ve nailed down why you want to own a house and figured out a monthly budget that gives you a payment amount you’re comfortable with. Great! Now it’s time for something you might have never thought about before: your credit.