How to avoid hurting your credit score

One of the few things that can turn a bad situation worse not understand why you're in a bad situation first. It can be frustrating to be told you have bad credit when you do not know what's there. Below we explain three of some of the most common pitfalls consumers make that cause them to have a bad credit score. Avoid late payments.
 One of the biggest culprits behind ruining credit score is to pay your overdue credit card bill. Consumers tend to think that had to pay a late fee, no other consequences associated with a late payment. First, being late on your payment will have a direct impact on your FICO score.
The later you are, the greater the damage. On top of hurting your credit score directly, one late payment can increase your APR This means that if you carry a balance, you will pay a higher interest rate on it. If you are not ready to pay more, you will likely take an even greater balance and the effects of this can quickly snowball out of control.
 Do not apply for many credit cards in a short period. Part of what determines your FICO score is appearances. Companies looking to their financial habits like to see you act as if the credit is a nice perk, you do not necessarily need. Each time you submit an application for a credit card, loan or anything like that an inquiry is made on your credit card.
When several inquiries are made within a short period, the credit reporting agencies realize this as you need credit desperately - something that does not bode well for your ability to pay back. When this happens, your credit score may decrease, and you may be denied their applications. Not defaulting on a loan or bankruptcy.
While playing the towel can save a headache at present, defaulting on a loan or bankruptcy should always be the last resort. If you never do either of these two things, it will become part of your permanent record. Having declared bankruptcy digs a deep hole at 1-1 credit history that will take several years to dig out in the future.