The horrible mistake was not being prompt with my credit card payments, back in the day. I had a small but not-insignificant credit card debt, and I am more than a little embarrassed to say that I *forgot* to pay it for three months running. Somewhere in my head I thought I had, and because I didn't keep proper records, the amount never got paid, and the company canceled my card.
Turns out, having that done is practically the equivalent of declaring bankruptcy, as far as I'm concerned. It dropped my credit score by well over 200 points, and is going to stay on my credit record for six years starting from when the debt was fully repaid, which due to a very long and annoying bureaucratic screw-up of $3.00 (yes, three dollars) ended up not being until August of 2006. So I'm actually stuck until August 2012 before this will all go away.
So, yeah, if nothing else, make your minimum payments pronto. This isn't rocket science. It's a very firm Life Lesson in not being lackadaisical about finances.
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Date: 2009-09-21 09:51 pm (UTC)Turns out, having that done is practically the equivalent of declaring bankruptcy, as far as I'm concerned. It dropped my credit score by well over 200 points, and is going to stay on my credit record for six years starting from when the debt was fully repaid, which due to a very long and annoying bureaucratic screw-up of $3.00 (yes, three dollars) ended up not being until August of 2006. So I'm actually stuck until August 2012 before this will all go away.
So, yeah, if nothing else, make your minimum payments pronto. This isn't rocket science. It's a very firm Life Lesson in not being lackadaisical about finances.