December is a time for families and friends to come together over the holidays. However, the last month of the year can also be a big budget buster that can leave you broke and in debt if you aren’t careful.

We have created a breakdown of mistakes smart people make over the holidays that result in January being hard to bear. Avoiding these actions can help you make certain you roll into January with some money left in your pocket and your credit score intact.

A credit score is a measurement to determine your credit worthiness, and we should all strive to keep ours as HIGH as possible. This means managing our payments, watching our credit card balances, and not frivolously applying for new credit.

However, certain seemingly innocent actions can result in credit score decreases. Do you recognize yourself as having any of these “conditions”?

Protect your credit score! Whether you are a high tech smartphone addict or barely use email, here are some everyday tips that you can put in place. These routine practices will boost your credit score to the top of the charts:

1: Make sure your credit report is accurate. If your credit score is being calculated from incorrect information, it may be suffering greatly. It’s estimated that 25% of credit reports contain some sort of error.
High tech way: You may request a copy of your credit report from www.annualcreditreport.com once every 12 months free of charge. This website is provided by the 3 main credit bureaus. Reviewing your credit report is a great way to catch any mistakes BEFORE they damage your credit.