Keeping your credit score in good shape is as easy as carrying as little debt as you can and paying your bills on time, right? While most of the time those two simple rules – simple to understand but not always simple to execute – will keep your score at its best, there are some things that you may not be aware of that could be making your credit score lower than it could be. There are things that most people know will affect their credit score such as applying for loans and credit cards, but there are other things that people simply do not connect with their credit score that do in fact affect it.
One thing that is at the top of many people’s minds at this time of year is taxes. For some reason, although I have never known anyone who has been in hot water in regards to their taxes, I have developed a healthy respect for the IRS. This is good, because my credit score needs all of the help that it can get. Believe it or not, tax liens do get reported to credit bureaus and they stay on your credit history even longer than a bankruptcy.
Parking tickets, library fines, and other little debts that many people feel are insignificant may actually affect your credit score. The municipalities to whom the debts are owed report them to credit reporting agencies even though they are often owed very small amounts of money. Of course, this is not nearly as ludicrous as the library that sent a police officer to the home of a five year old girl to recover an overdue library book from her, but it may come as a surprise to some people who think that no one really cares about those little debts.
Utility bills are another item that many people do not realize are reported to credit reporting agencies. For some reason, utility companies do not wait very long to report delinquent accounts either. Your unpaid bill may actually make it into your credit history before your lights get turned off.
Photo by zebmo on morguefile.com.