# 1 Rule or trick in pursuit of good credit ?

[Thomas_Thumb]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I was thinking  ( Yes, again )!Other things are very important as well but, 

Of all the oddities and theories in this credit world that we all love

What is the 1 rule you hold most important...

I am stuck between 

1) Never miss a payment ( very obvious but sometimes learned the hard way ).

     OR

2) Obtain a large credit line ( get lots of credit )  before you use or need it.

Get it before you need it

What do you all think...would love to read your thoughts

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It's simple, no delinquencies, derogatory marks or public records (rolled into one rule = Stay Clean). Nothing else comes close - IMO.

Other strategies are very important ... given only one rule, staying clean matters most.

[Anonymous]

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@Kevin86475391 wrote:

Hmm, well certainly not missing payments and keeping utilization low have much more impact on score, but I'm not going to list those for this thread. They're a bit more obvious (at least to people likely to be visiting the forum and seeing this thread). I'd say my personal rule of thumb that's always served me well is as follows: Don't open more than one account a year.

Like many members here credit is a bit of a hobby for me and I can certainly see how it might be tempting to chase new cards or always be looking for the next thing. But I've always made it a point to avoid applying for more than one new card in a 12-month period, and often more like 12-24 months. I firmly believe this has kept me off lenders' radar as far as AA, kept my AAOA strong, and kept me on the right side of lenders who are inq/new credit sensitive.

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Thanks Kevin

That is why I included tricks of the trade...

I am curious about just what you say....no more than 1 a year...or less...

 good idea

Maybe impossible for most of us!

[Anonymous]

Always #1.  Never, ever miss a payment!  The second is a trick but not a necessity.    

[takeshi74]

Don't rely on one rule.  Educate yourself.  Understand your reports and how that data impact scoring and how creditors view your credit profile.  Your credit isn't assessed just on one factor.  Payment History is the biggest factor but all factors matter.

http://www.myfico.com/crediteducation/whatsinyourscore.aspx

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I was thinking  ( Yes, again )!

Of all the oddities and theories in this credit world that we all love

What is the 1 rule you hold most important...

I am stuck between 

1) Never miss a payment ( very obvious but sometimes learned the hard way ).

     OR

2) Obtain a large credit line ( get lots of credit )  before you use or need it.

Get it before you need it

What do you all think...would love to read your thoughts

---

1) Never miss a payment.

2) Low Utilization.

[Anonymous]

1. Live within your means
2. Never miss a payment

I think 1 is more important than 2 because it avoids the really big derogatories (bankruptcy, judgement, collection) as if you don't live within your means eventually you won't be ABLE to make a payment.

Never miss a payment is then the most important thing to somebody with healthy finances.