May Hurt
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There’s nothing wrong with being too careful, especially when it comes to your money and finances. You work really hard for your income, and you want to be sure that you have managed it properly. Part of this includes your credit score, and we found 5 surprises that may hurt your credit score.
-->Closing a Credit Card: You may think it is good to eliminate as many credit cards as possible, but closing a credit card shortens your credit history, and will raise the total credit utilization of other cards.
-->Unused Credit Cards: Again, you may think you’re doing the right thing by not racking up credit bills, but in order to generate credit, you actually have to use it. To get going, start designating a card for specific purchases like gasoline, and then pay it off every month. Baby steps.
-->Renting a Car With a Debit Card: Not only do rental companies put an outrageous hold on your account, but also most agencies will run a credit report when you pay with a debit card. As a result, the credit check triggers a hard inquiry, which will deduct points from your score.
-->New Cell Phone Plan: When you’re opening a new cell phone account, most mobile companies submit a hard credit inquiry, which will ding your score a couple points again. It’s best to avoid these situations as your score can drop quickly with too many credit inquiries.
-->Unpaid Parking Tickets: It’s no secret that the government and many states are in serious debt and have budget problems. As a result, many cities are now sending unpaid parking tickets to collection agencies, which then go on your credit report.
Avoid making any of these mistakes in order to keep your credit score as high as possible.