How to Avoid the Seven Deadly Sins of Credit: Part 2
This is the final entry in a two-part series on how to protect your credit. Be sure to read the first entry for other tips on how to obtain your best credit score.
Maintaining an exceptional credit score and excellent credit report, or working to improve your credit history, can be a complicated and lengthy pursuit. An individual’s credit score speaks volumes about how fiscally responsible someone is, and a good credit score can save a person money on everything from interest fees to loans. In order to obtain your best credit score, understanding common financial faux pas and how to avoid them will help get you on the path to credit righteousness.
Here are tips to avoid common credit sins courtesy of The Huffington Post:
- Wrath: Powerful emotions, such as anger, have the tendency to incite spending sprees. Identify your spending triggers, i.e. spending more when out with friends or when you’ve had a bad day at work, so you can break the cycle.
- Envy: Keeping up with the Joneses and envying another’s goods, whether it is a new car, smart phone, or designer shoes, can certainly lead to shopping splurges and over-spending. Taking a hard look at your budget and identifying the spending categories where you’ve gone over the limit in the past and what the trigger was can help you nip overspending in the bud.
- Pride: If you’re struggling to afford your current lifestyle or even basic necessities, never be too proud to ask for help, whether that means calling a creditor to ask for a lower interest rate or getting professional advice from a financial planner. If your debt is very high, talking to a bankruptcy attorney can help you find the answer you need.
- Greed: Using every available dollar of your credit card’s spending limit not only racks up debt but also hurts your credit score because you’ll have a large debt-to-income ratio. Spending close to your credit limits may make you less attractive to another creditor as they may think you are a credit risk, so keep credit card spending in moderation. Try and keep your total balance under 30% of your available credit.
Understanding the financial mistakes that may impact your credit score can certainly help you improve it or maintain the score that you’ve worked hard to achieve. The bankruptcy lawyers in Tennessee with Massey & Associates, P.C. know that debt and financial matters can often be overwhelming, and can help you eliminate debt and take control of your financial future. Call (423) 697-4529 for a no-cost consultation.
