1. Pay your bills on time. Sounds simple, but this is the best way to keep your scores high. Delinquent payments and collections have a severe impact on a score.

2. Keep credit card balances low. Large balances will have a negative impact on your score. I generally recommend keeping balances below 30% of your credit limit.

3. Don’t open too many new accounts too quickly. Especially if you’re relatively new to credit. This will create too many inquiries which hurts your score.

4. Make sure the information in your credit report is correct. If it’s not, dispute it with the credit agencies and/or with the creditor directly.

5. It’s OK to check your own credit. Be sure to monitor your credit on a regular basis and be ready to dispute any derogatory information on your reports!