Don’t Fall Prey to These Common Credit Score Mistakes

Nicole Sanchez, founder of a credit repair company eCreditHero, offers free credit repair programs online. Sanchez works hard to to help guide the Black community to increase their credit health. An NAACP report once detailed how Blacks are more likely to rely on credit cards as financial support, often pay higher interest rates and suffer more from negative consequences of debt than other races. Working on improving your credit score and how you utilize credit? Below, Sanchez debunks four myths she wants you to forget right now.

Myth: As long as I don’t go over my limit and pay my bill on time, my credit should be good.

“The credit limit you’re given is not the credit limit that they factor into your credit score. It’s actually best to keep it below 10%, as that’s considered excellent. However, the general rule of thumb is to keep it under 30%. For every $100 on your credit card you should be spending no more than $30.”

Myth: If I check my credit score it will hurt my credit.

This is definitely not true, as you’re not trying to get money so it doesn’t hurt you. It’s like you’re getting on a scale and checking to see how much you weigh. You could check your score every day if you want.

Myth: I should only have one credit card.

“Not true. You actually want to have between 3-5 credit cards because a part of fixing your report is actually building it. Essentially, you want to have a variety of accounts because one credit card is often not enough. However, you don’t need to open them all at once if you don’t have the money to pay them all back.”

Myth: No credit is good credit.

“The truth is that if you have no credit history, you don’t have a financial reputation. It just means that you are unknown and unknown is bad because people won’t just give money to anybody. You credit is your financial passport.”

This article originally appeared on Essence.com