When you have a credit card, only charge what you can afford to pay. This sounds easy enough, but many people get into the habit of charging things that they cannot afford to pay for. This leads to late payments and a lower credit score. You also get further and further in a financial hole because most of your payments will be going to interest and not the principal amount owed.

Using your Credit Card

Use only a small amount of the credit that is issued to you on your credit card. If you max out your credit cards, your credit report will start to suffer. Try to stay at least 50 percent below your credit limit to build up your credit. This shows lenders that you are responsible with your credit card.

Don’t get too many credit cards at once. Many people make this mistake thinking the more credit cards they have, the faster they can build up their credit. This leads to many of them using up too much credit and lowering their credit score. Don’t fall victim to this line of thinking. Start with one credit card and use it responsibly to build up your credit score slowly.

Credit Card Balance

Remember that having a credit card balance isn’t a bad thing. If you are responsible paying off the balance, the credit card company will report that to the credit bureau and your credit will go up. Try to pay more than the minimum amount that is due each month so that you pay off your balance more quickly. Paying more than the minimum will also help raise your credit score. Use your Credit Card to build your credit the right way!