7 Behaviors That Hurt Your Credit Score

Was your housing rental application recently denied? Did your new cell phone provider require a hefty deposit? It might have something to do with your credit health. 和其他债权人一样, property management companies and cell phone carriers need assurance that you’ll meet your financial obligations, regardless of how much money you earn. Poor credit scores often result in credit denials or require larger deposits. 

So, before you submit another credit application, understand the behaviors impacting your credit score and the actions you can take to improve your credit rating.

1)逾期付款

Payment history determines 35% of your FICO® Score. Late payments signal high risk to potential creditors. 连一个 30天逾期付款 会影响你的信用评分吗.  On-time payments are essential to good credit health. 

Bring past due accounts current. Sign up for automatic bill pay using your checking account to make sure future payments arrive on time. 

2)忽略催收活动 

You might think credit cards and loans are the only accounts reported to collection agencies. 但, 未支付的债务, including delinquent medical bills, 手机话费, 公用事业服务, are also subject to collection activity. When a creditor sells your past due account to a collection agency, the debt will appear as a negative 新帐户 在你的信用记录报告上. 

Pay your bills on time, every time, regardless of bill type.

3)信用额度最大化

Credit accounts at or near credit limits contribute to poor credit scores. 一个高 信贷使用率 may mean you’re relying too much on credit and heading toward financial trouble. Potential creditors are hesitant to lend money or approve services to applicants who are financially overextended. Pay down balances and keep them below 30% of the available credit limit to see an improvement in your credit score. 

4) Skipping an Annual Credit Report Review

If you never miss a credit payment and keep credit balances low, you may still have a low credit score. Inaccurate information in your credit history reports can cause your score to plummet. Data reporting errors or attempted identity theft may produce a low credit score, even if you’re exhibiting responsible credit behaviors. The only way you’ll know for sure 是 examine each one of your credit history reports at least annually.

Request free copies of your reports from Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion by visiting AnnualCreditReport.com. Review each report for accuracy and follow the dispute process provided by each bureau to have errors removed. 

5)结清信用账户

If you’re thinking about closing an account you opened five years ago, 但已不再使用, 考虑保持开放. When you close accounts, it impacts the 信用记录长度. Longer credit histories provide potential creditors with confidence in your ability to repay debt obligations over an extended period of time.

6) Relying on a Single Major Credit Card to Build Your Credit 

How well you handle a variety of credit obligations can affect your score. Besides a credit card, a healthy 信贷组合 might include an auto loan, personal loan, and retail store accounts. 但, don’t rush to open 新帐户s to improve your credit score since the 信贷组合 may have less of an impact than other factors. Your 信贷组合 may have more or less influence depending on how much additional information is available to access your overall credit risk. 

7) Opening Multiple New Accounts

Multiple credit accounts opened during a short window of time can lower your credit score. 而 新的信贷 has a small impact on your score, limiting the number of 新的信贷 accounts can also help avoid unnecessary debt. Similar to a mix of credit accounts, 新的信贷 has less of an impact on your credit score if there’s other information available to calculate credit risk. 

Improving your credit score takes time. Responsible credit usage focuses on paying bills as agreed and keeping credit usage low. Adopting healthy credit behaviors now can make it easier to maintain a good credit score and build the financial future of your dreams.