By Dannielle Slaven - Youngstown State University

Once you establish your credit, you have to maintain it.

We know your first priority is checking your credit report and score (yeah, right!). It doesn’t have to take top priority, but it should be a concern to you. Case in point, I recently decided to take a more active stance on monitoring my credit.

What I found really surprised me…

According to my report, I had credit with a retail company, and had cancelled my card within a year ago. I ended up calling the company, and to make a long story short, discovered that some retail stores continue holding and updating customer credit info “in case you decide to obtain the credit again.”

This is one way that the retail sales industry is able to give you that extra 15% discount and instant credit approval. Keeping lines of credit open like in my case can actually hurt your credit score, especially if you’re not using your credit card.

Leave the surprises for your birthdays, not your credit report.

Use this as a reminder to check your credit report and score soon.

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