Credit Myths

     Many people go through their lives having many misconceptions on what is or is not going to look good on your credit report.  Clearing up those miscommunications is a benefit that will not only make you more financially responsible and stable, but anyone you come in connection with as well. To start off, when people say they prefer to use debit cards rather than credit cards in efforts to help their credit, they are hurting it more so by not using it. By not using credit cards, they are not proving their capability to pay off what they are purchasing.  Next is paying off your credit card in full in hopes to prove you can keep the balance at zero.  While paying only the minimum payment due is bad for your credit, so is paying the entire balance in full and not keeping an ongoing  relationship with the credit card company.  The third misconception about credit is the idea that only having one credit card, loan, or line will help prove your financial stability.  Credit score is impacted by the relationships you establish with multiple financial institutions to prove your financial responsibility.  The last point I would like to hit is the fact that asking for a credit increase WILL NOT be harmful to your credit as everyone seems to think.  Asking for an increase on a loan or credit card should be postponed until at least having an established relationship with the financial institution for a year.  However, if the individual is declined for the increase it will hurt them to continue to hard check their credit for another loan or increase on the same or multiple banks and cards.