How to avoid damaging your credit score

Credit score: it's that mysterious triple-digit number that allows you to buy a car, get a mortgage, even move in to certain apartments. The higher it is, the more willing money lenders and salesmen are to help you. Here's a list of common mistakes you can avoid doing to pump that number up.

One way to keep credit scores flying high is to pay the balance off in full, or as close to full, as possible every single month. While it seems so easy to pay off the nice little minimum set by the credit card company, they're the ones who benefit from that; not only does it bump down credit scores, the unpaid balance collects interest and boosts the company's bottom line.

Maxing out a credit card is a sure way to demolish credit; just because the credit is available doesn't mean it should all be used. A good rule of thumb is to cap off the limit at 40-60 percent of the available credit. If possible, using less than 25% is ideal. If you need a bigger spending limit, open up another card.

And the biggest mistake? Not using credit at all. While buying things and paying bills based on credit may seem like a mysterious and scary thing to do, in the long run, it's the best way to boost credit up. If using a credit card for a lot of expenses is too stressful of a leap, open up a credit card account for one expense, such as groceries or utilities, then pay it off in full every month. A small step like this can help credit climb its way up in the higher echelons of scores.

Pay cards on time, use them every month, and keep them under their limits, and your credit score will be soaring high above the rest.