This is extremely important. Late and missing bill payments have a significant and long lasting effect on your credit score. If the issue is inattention, find the best way to remind yourself of payment schedules. Put all of your bills in one prominent location where you can’t miss them. Set payment reminders on your smartphone if that helps.

Remember, your credit utilization ratio is the amount of credit that you’re using at any time divided by your total available credit. That applies to each credit card account as well as the total of all your accounts. It may be difficult to do at times, but try to manage your accounts so that the amount of credit you’re using strays well below your credit limit.

Instead of borrowing less to keep your credit utilization low, why not call your credit card company and ask for an increase in your credit limit? The worst they could do is say NO but a recent survey shows that they say YES a whopping 89% of the time. Yet the same study showed that only 28% of credit card users even bothered to ask.

Should you decide to consolidate debt by using a balance transfer credit card, you are trading multiple debts for one larger debt in order to save on interest. However, combining multiple balances means that new transfer card’s credit utilization will be high, and your credit score will suffer as a result. Make sure you take full advantage of your deal, because it will be much harder to get another one. 

A major component of keeping your credit utilization low is keeping your monthly spending under control. If you don’t have a budget, set one up so monthly expenses can be planned and spread out throughout the year. Budgeting can help you manage your cash flow more smoothly and avoid getting into credit situations that can adversely affect your score, as well as helping establish the discipline necessary to save and create an emergency fund.

Credit shopping is fine in order to get the best deal, but limit your applications to the final choice. Opening multiple ne credit accounts in a short time will send the wrong message to creditors and could even cause an application to be denied.

You have the right to question every item on your credit report. After a business is notified of possible dispute, it must investigate and inform the credit-reporting agency of the results in a timely fashion. 

Put yourself in the shoes of the creditor who is determining whether to loan money to a stranger (a.k.a you). Any activity that you do that implies financial danger is a problem. Constantly increasing balances, unusual spikes in the amounts you have charged, or applying for too much credit are examples that can send up red flags to a creditor and will be reflected in your credit score.