 TITLE: Credit Mistakes to Avoid When You Are Young CONTENT: 3\\. Losing Track of and Not Paying Bills\n----------------------------------------\nLate payments can be costly to your credit and otherwise. One payment made over 30 days late will ding your credit score, and accounts that end up in collections for nonpayment will damage your credit further. Even if you make a credit card payment before it's 30 days late (when it's reported to the credit bureaus), your card issuer may charge you a late fee and increase your interest rate as a penalty.\nBest strategy: Don't forget. Put a recurring reminder on your calendar or set up alerts on your credit card account and in your bank's mobile bill pay system. If you're confident you'll have enough money in your checking account at all times to cover a payment, consider setting up automatic minimum payments to remove the risk of missing a due date.\nIf your mailing address, email or phone number changes, remember to alert your card issuer or loan provider if you have student loans or a car loan. You want to be sure they can contact you with bills and any other notices. Also update any accounts that use your card for payment, especially automatic payments. If your contact or card information has changed, or your card has expired, your payments may not go through—and unpaid bills can result in credit-damaging collections. END