Have you ever wondered how you get bad credit? Bad credit affects all of us. When large numbers of Americans suffer bad credit it can affect the whole economy. The recent housing crisis is a perfect example. Bad credit truly does affect everyone. Most of us had no idea that our neighbor's bad credit was affecting our ability to get a loan.

Most of us do not realize the impact of our credit score. Bad credit scores directly affect the interest rates on our loans. If our credit score is too low we will not be granted loans at all. So how do we get bad credit? Here are some actions that adversely affect our credit score:

• Late payments: Late payments are the number one reason we have bad credit. It is incredibly important to make your monthly payments on time. Many people do not realize they can get bad credit by paying service companies late. It does not have to be a credit company loan. You can get bad credit for being late on your utility bill.
• Missed payments: Bad credit is often a result from individuals missing monthly payments
  
• Parking tickets and library fines: Libraries and local city governments are reporting to the credit reporting agencies. This is astounding to many people. They had no idea that a late fee for that library book was causing bad credit.
  
• Utility bills: Utility companies are causing you to have bad credit. That's right; your local utility company is turning you in. Every time you are late on your utility bill it is reported to the credit reporting agencies. Actually, they are sharing your information monthly. They have agreements with the credit reporting agencies to share information.
  
• Applying for credit: Each time your credit is checked it lowers your credit score. It is not good to apply for credit often. An example would be shopping for a car. It is a good idea not to allow dealerships to run your credit until you are sure you want to buy a car. If you let every dealer you visit run your credit it will damage your credit score.
  
• Collections: Do not allow loans or debt to go to a collection agency. Do everything you can to make arrangements with the original lender to make monthly payments. Any debt that ends up in collection will result in bad credit.

These are just a few of the things that can give you bad credit. Today, any company that you give your personal information to maybe sharing it with credit reporting agencies. Sadly, anything that requires monthly payments has the potential to give you bad credit.