Your credit card score has a crucial role to play in helping you qualify for a home loan, car loan, or any other personal loan. You must give up poor financial habits and stay away from debt to maintain a healthy credit score. Read on to learn more about a few financial habits that are dropping your credit score:

• Making late payments
  Reports suggest that timely payments account for 35 percent of your credit score, but this does not mean that one missed payment will bring down your score, as you will only be charged a certain amount of fee. So, clear your dues in time instead of procrastinating, and it’ll help you reflect a good payment history.
• Increasing debt-to-credit ratio
  Your debt-to-credit ratio is the basic criterion for analyzing how much you exactly owe to your creditor. A high ratio is a red flag and indicates irresponsible behavior, which further affects your score. In other words, these financial habits are dropping your credit score, so focus on eliminating them. To do this, keep a check on the credit extended to you and keep the balance minimal.
• Applying for too many credit cards
  The number of credit card accounts you have or have applied for is also taken into consideration while calculating your credit score. Applying for multiple credit cards in a short period indicates the lack of financial stability in your life, so ensure that you don’t file multiple credit card applications if you want to maintain a healthy score.
• Closing your credit card with a balance
  Closing a credit account abruptly, especially without clearing the balance, can adversely affect your score. Ensure that you get rid of these financial habits that are dropping your credit score and follow a strategic approach to close or cancel cards instead. This is because closing them with an unpaid balance will reflect negatively in your credit history.
• Leaving your card unused
  You must note that not using your credit card can bring down your credit history. This decision does not directly harm your score, but leaving your card inactive until the bank decides to close it is a cause for concern. It is worth 15 percent of your score, so use your card once a month and pay the balance on time.

It is entirely in your hands to maintain a good credit score and prevent it from going down. If you are trying to find the reasons behind a poor credit score, take a look at the above-mentioned points, as these financial habits are dropping your credit score.