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Good Credit Score Essay

Satisfactory Essays

You work hard to maintain a good credit score by paying your bills on time and keeping payments low enough to manage your monthly budget. Unfortunately, some things may adversely affect your credit and you may not even realize it.

1. Paying Fines Late

Ooops! You got a parking ticket and you asked the judge for more time to pay it. He agreed to let you have a payment arrangement, but make sure you honor the agreement. If any of those payments are late, the court system may send your bill to a collection agency.

2. Paying Nondebt Items Late

Your credit score takes into account more than just your debt. A landlord could report a late rent payment to a credit bureau, and so can your utility company. These types of nondebt payments don?t show …show more content…

Getting a Lot of Credit All at Once

On a big shopping trip, you decide to open four credit accounts at various stores so you can take advantage of discounts on merchandise purchased with the in-store credit during the winter holiday shopping blitz. Unfortunately, those discounts at the register may cost you interest in the long run because credit bureaus could lower your credit score. That?s because the stores make what?s called a ?hard inquiry? into your credit.

When agencies make too many inquiries over a certain period of time, credit bureaus might dock your credit score. Hard inquiries also happen when you pay for a rental car using a debit card, buy a new cellphone, request a credit limit increase, open a new bank account and apply for a finance plan on a big-ticket item.

4. Canceling Cards You Paid Off

Paying off a credit card is great, just don?t cancel it. Canceling a line of credit damages your credit score because it lowers the total amount of credit in your name. Getting rid of the account could also lessen the time of your credit history, and that can affect whether you get a loan in the future. Keep your oldest credit card active as it creates a longer credit history, even if you don?t plan to use the card again once you pay it

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