Paying off my debts: Strategy

OneClassic

Hi guys...my first post here so apologies if it has already been discussed.

I have been having debt problems for the last 2 years largely due to an investment that went bad. I had somewhat stupidly committed to expenditure based upon the continued income generated by this investment...however after a couple of good years everything went south, a situation compounded by both of my parents falling long term ill and being out of work. Being an only child a lot of the the responsibility fell on my shoulders.

Sob story over...I have managed to survive long enough to see some light at the end of the tunnel. Having recently sold a house I now have the capital to clear all of my debts and start on a road to financial security. One of the overriding issues is the affect that the last two years have had on my credit score....something I am keen to repair ASAP.

I am aware that maintaining credit card payments for an extended period is one way of doing this but the temptation is to pay off all my cards immediately. However, I am sure that once I do this I will lose any credit facility I have and thus not be able to utilise this approach to repairing my credit file. I am wondering if it would be better to pay of the majority of this debt but not all....thus allowing me to pay off the balance over a longer period and subsequently demonstrating my ability to now meet my debts over an extended period of time.

I would appreciate any opinions on this or even just help in understanding the best strategies for paying off my debts whilst attempting to repair my credit file. Please share your thought?!

Thanks in advance.....!