The biggest mistake is making late payments. Payment history is the most important part of your score. Even one payment 30 days late can hurt your score for years. Set up automatic payments for at least the minimum amount due. Life gets busy, so let technology help you protect your score. Always know your due dates and make paying on time your top priority.

The biggest things that hurt your score are easy to remember: paying bills late and using too much of your credit limit. A single late payment can stay on your report for seven years and really drag your score down. Maxing out your credit cards makes you look risky, even if you pay them off each month. Other hits include having lots of new credit applications in a short time, having only one type of credit, or having negative items like collections or bankruptcies.

Be very careful. Many companies promise quick fixes but charge high fees for things you can do yourself for free, like disputing errors. No one can legally remove accurate negative information from your report. You are your own best advocate. Use free resources and do the work yourself. It takes time, but you can rebuild your credit without paying a company.

Don’t panic! This is totally normal. Your bank uses one specific company’s formula to calculate your score, but there are a few different formulas out there. They might also use slightly different information or update on a different day. The key thing is to watch the trend on the same tool. Is your score from your bank going up over time? That’s the real sign you’re doing things right, even if the number isn’t exactly the same everywhere.