Financial Literacy - Credit savvy
7 ways to trash your credit

Ignore mistakes on your report

Say what you will about credit bureaus: They do make it easy to dispute inaccuracies on your credit report.

Sure, they may not fix them and it may be nearly impossible to ever speak to a live human being. But sometimes, probably more often than not, it works and it's easy.

In order to dispute something on a credit report, one must, of course, check one's credit report. Easier than it's ever been, consumers have unfettered access to their own credit information, a vast improvement over the laborious and time-consuming methods used in the dark ages before the Internet.

Unlike other issues that affect credit scores, mistakes can sometimes be remedied easily and quickly, so it's worthwhile to keep tabs on your report.

Make late payments or skip them entirely





"Believe it or not a 2-year-old incident of a payment being 90-days' late is not as bad as a recent 30-days' late. The older one may have been one blemish in a long history but a 30-day this month can lead to a 60 which can lead to a 90," says Paperno.


The further back in time the mistakes are, the less impact they have on your credit score. Obviously, the fewer mistakes consumers make -- all the better for their score. Once the mistakes are several years old, however, they may not be affecting the credit score at all.


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Allison Ross

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