3 Credit Card Mistakes That Can Hurt Your Credit Report For Years

A good credit score is vital to a healthy financial future. There’s no doubt about this. Yet many people struggle to reach a FICO score of 740. This is because they make mistakes that are bad habits. These habits ruin their credit score without their knowledge.

That said, here are 3 credit card mistakes that can hurt your credit report for years:

1: It’s Not Free Money

This is the worst mentality that one can have towards credit cards. A credit card is anything but a blank check. This will lead you to make purchases without planning how to pay it off. The charges will shock you when you receive your monthly statement. Paying the minimum monthly payment will result in you falling into a dangerous cycle.

2: Spending When You Don’t Have the Money

Everyone of us have been guilty of buying things we don’t have money for. This is why people use credit cards. Even if you intend to pay it off on time, this “one time” purchase can become a habitual thing. How you avoid this is by using a credit card as you would a debit card. In other words, swiping it only when you have money in your bank. No matter what, spend within your means.

3: Missing Payments

Spending with care is the first step to building a good credit score. The second is to make your payments on time. Disregarding this will result in your credit score dropping fast. Almost 35% of your credit score composition depends on your payment history. Worse still: apart from this, you will incur hefty fees. An increased interest rate is possible too. One way to avoid this is by setting up automatic payments for the credits cards you own.