6. Not carrying a balance

“The question I get most often is, 'What balance do I need to carry on my credit card?”, Long says, “You don't have to carry a balance to show good credit." The confusion arises, she says, because many people understand that if they have a credit card but never use it, it won't improve their credit score.”

She adds, “If you accidentally don't send a payment, or send it late one time, you should call the credit card company, let them know, and ask them not to report it. A lot of times they won't even mark it as late. What really hurts is paying late over and over.”