Crazy, right? Apparently car rental companies drop in some fine print that says they can pull a hard credit report if you use a debit card instead of a credit card. These are the kinds of inquiries that will cause a ding in your score!

This one my friend learned the hard way. Libraries across America are turning unpaid late fees over to collections agencies who report this on your credit statement! Unbelievable.

With budget cuts and a down economy, cities are getting more aggressive on unpaid parking tickets by sending them to collections agencies. Just like library fines, these’ll drop your credit score really fast! Move your car or pay up!

This one sounds obvious but you’ll be surprised how many people don’t realize that a single late payment can beat up your score. Luckily most credit cards won’t report a missed payment until after 30 days, but be careful!

This one has to be the CRAZIEST! Closing a credit card can negatively affect your score! Basically, having a lot of available credit that you don’t use is better than using a lot of your available credit. What that means is it’s better to keep them open with a $0 balance, making your ‘credit utilization rate’ much lower!

Summary: Follow some common sense and you’ll be in great shape. The best next step for everyone reading this article is to CHECK YOUR CREDIT SCORE! The best way? CreditKarma.com -- free checks whenever you want!