<p>I’m very confused about the whole bad credit deal. So I’m scared that I may do something stupid to get a bad credit report. So if I have a bank account and the balance goes to negative, does that mean I will get a bad credit score? How exactly does one get bad credit?</p>
<p>Bank accounts generally don’t appear on credit reports.</p>
<p>Some easy ways to get bad credit:</p>
<p>-Have no credit history
-Have a short credit history
-Miss debt payments (such as credit card)
-Pay debt late
-Overutilize your revolving accounts (carrying a credit card balance >50% of your available credit)
-Go over your limit on revolving accounts
-Apply for too many new accounts within a short period of time</p>
<p>Not paying your taxes is a biggie.</p>
<p>Default on anything.
Have a very poor credit balance to bank balance ratio.</p>
<p>Basically, if you only spend money you know you have in the bank, you’ll be OK.</p>
<p>I have a question I am almost hesitant to ask because it sounds dumb, and I’m afraid of the answer…</p>
<p>I work at Gap and we put a big emphasis on selling our brand credit cards. I have a certain quota I have to meet each month. One month I wasn’t meeting it, so I applied for a card because I knew I would not get approved since I have absolutely zero credit. I did this again twice over the next couple months when I wasn’t meeting my quota. I thought it couldn’t affect my credit score if I don’t have any credit to begin with…but I’m thinking I’m wrong. How bad has this hurt me?</p>
<p>Well, it won’t kill you.</p>
<p>Whether or not you get approved for a card you apply for does not have an effect on your credit score (this is a common misconception). If you look at your credit report, nowhere does it show accounts that you were denied for.</p>
<p>What DOES affect your credit is applying for new credit in the first place. When you apply for something, the lender (generally) checks your credit. When someone else checks your credit, this is called a “hard pull” and this leaves a mark on your report. If you have more than two hard pulls during the past two years, you’ll have a negative on your report.</p>
<p>Keep in mind, though, that a few hard pulls won’t affect your credit too much and that they will go away after two years, so you haven’t ruined your credit or anything. I definitely wouldn’t continue doing this.</p>
<p>Also, getting credit cards & then closing the accounts is not good for your credit score. It seems it’s better to get the card & then put it in a secure place (like a safety deposit box or even cut up the card). </p>
<p>Filing for bankruptcy is a BIG blot on your credit score as well.</p>
<p>credit cards are awesome if you use them correctly. You get all those bonuses and you get to keep your money in the bank, in stocks, or in other investments longer building your time value even if it is only a tiny bit. Just pay them when you are supposed to and you are the winner. If you don’t pay them when you should or just pay the minimum you experience a bad that is 10x the good.</p>
<p>it is bad to apply for a credit card and get rejected just because they check your credit history everytime you apply for a card, so the fact that they’re checking brings your credit history down. so even if you are rejected or accepted it’s bad.</p>