The content is accurate at the time of publication and is subject to change.

Most of the American population has had to deal with credit card debt at one point of time or another. With many financial commitments, especially in the event of the loss of a job, or a medical emergency you may tend to neglect your credit card payments or miss those altogether resulting in a bad credit score. Every single person makes mistakes. You cannot be a whiz at it right at the beginning, well some are, but if you are not there is still hope!

Many people choose credit cards based on what points they can redeem and attracted by the gift vouchers offered. While these offers do make your shopping experience better, they are not the best way to choose a card. Particularly when you are having problems keeping your job, you may want to reconsider and switch to a card which can offer you lower interest rates. In case you have ended up with a card that gives you many rewards you should be careful not to give in to your impulses and go binge shopping. You will get a lot of vouchers and discounts but your interest rates being whopping will make your outstanding balance impossible to close. If you have not got a steady income to deal with your credit charges, do not make those purchases.

Another common mistake many people make is if they forgot to make a payment they miss it altogether. They think, since they missed it anyway, it would already have done damage to their credit scores. However, if you still manage to make a late payment or call your creditor and ask them not to report if you can get a week`s time to close the entire balance you can salvage the situation somewhat.

Yet another mistake many people make is to not keep a track of their credit scores. Most people do not even know that they can request a free credit report annually. When you get a credit report you can see where you stand and take measures to work on your credit scores or keep them going in good standing. Make sure you have all your payment slips in place. Most people do not bother to check their credit statements; they see the outstanding balance and worry about meeting with it but do not check to see if there could be errors. Credit bureaus make mistakes so check your statement and if you see a discrepancy, question it and save yourself some money!

Disclaimer: This editorial content is not provided or commissioned by the credit card issuer(s). Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of the credit card issuer(s), and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuer(s). Reasonable efforts are made to present accurate information, however all information is presented without warranty. Consult a card's issuing bank for the terms & conditions.
All rates and fees, and other terms and conditions of the products mentioned in this article/post are actual as of the last update date but are subject to change. See the current products' Terms & Conditions on the issuing banks' websites.