Who doesn’t want a perfect credit score? After all, this three digit number not only affects your financial but also personal life. A poor credit score can not only cost you hundreds or even thousands of dollars per month but can also get your loan application turned down. Thus, you must take prerequisite steps to improve your credit score.

The most vital factor that influences your score is your payment history. Hence, it is of utmost importance that you pay your bills on time. More than one-third of your credit score, rather FICO score (the most popular score) is based on your payment history. If you are late in paying your bills then your score will be devastatingly affected. Bills that that are more than 90 days late leave a blemish on your report. A single 90-day late payment is considered as negative as a bankruptcy filing, a collection, a tax lien, a charge off or a repossession.

So don’t be late on your monthly payments. If you are in financial trouble and can not pay the amount in full then try to make the minimum payment. If making the minimum payments is also not possible then call your lender and explain him the reasons and he might understand your problem.