If you know what things not to do to hurt your credit score then you can avoid doing it. There are things that affect your credit score that you may not even know about at all. Jot down some notes as you are reading along the way.
Make sure you get your free credit score check online to first see where you stand. Read through all the material and then look at your credit report so see what needs to be changed.
1. First look at how much of a balance you carry and your credit limit on that card. If the balance of debt you owe divided by the credit limit of that card exceeds more than 30%, then you need to spend less on that card. Keeping the max you spend at under a fourth of the credit limit is a great way to start towards your finances.
2. The next best think you can do to screw up your credit score is to pay your bills late or to never pay them. Having a late payment on your credit report will drop your credit score at least by 20 points.
3. Keeping the number of active credit lines open is a good idea, but don’t have too many accounts open or too little. You want an aggregate of all your credit limits to see how much of it you can spread out.
I would consider you wise if you got your free credit score credit report at the same time. It’s like your yearly check-up at the doctor or hospital.
It’s even more important if you are a home owner so you need check your credit report mortgage rates. These are some of the examples of why your credit score is important. You can probably get the highest credits score.