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Credit cards are an ever popular necessity in life these days and so many people have multiple cards that it is hard to keep count. The important thing to do is to make sure that you have the right kind of cards and that you make your payments regularly or else you will end up with bad credit history. Credit history is important for a number of reasons; it seemingly affects nearly every aspect of life. Whether you are looking for a good insurance quote, alternate credit cards or even to get a good deal on your mortgage, you have to have a good credit score. There are many steps that you can take to make sure your credit doesn't go downhill.
The first step you have to take care of is that you pay the monthly bills on time. If you cannot close the whole outstanding amount at least pay a minimum one so you don't get marked as late or delinquent on your credit report. Additionally any bad mark on your credit report stays for seven years, so every time you apply for anything that appears as a negative mark against you in front of lenders and employers. These days even for job application, credit scores are important, when people have a bad credit history, they may not be considered suitable for a job opportunity. Do not carry too many credit cards at once; make sure you have just three at the most.
Another mistake many people tend to make is to think that closing credit cards helps. If anything closing a really old account will actually damage your credit history more. If you want to avoid bad credit history keep your cards open for as long as you can and do not try to apply for too many cards. If you are seen to be shopping around for credit, that gets damaging for the credit score as well. It is also important to keep up to date about your credit information, the best way to do that is to opt for a report that contains details from all three credit bureaus than just one.
Many people also assume that opting for bankruptcy is the easiest way out of debts. This however is a bad truth to believe in. If anything the bankruptcy can damage your chances of credit immensely. It will make your credit score hit the bottom and it will also stay on your report for over 10 years. There are also a lot of procedures involved in it that will impact you for a long time to come. Instead opting for counseling and figuring out what can be done to set the record straight is important. Consistently work on improving your credit score and also try to work on it being a fair one at all times. Get a secured card to help with the bad credit history so that you can make payments on time and you will not lose out on a good opportunity later on.
