3 Hobbies That Can Hurt Your Credit Score

2. Travelling

If exploring an exotic locale is your favorite way to relax, then you might be probably planning for your next trip right now. Plotting where to go, finding the best deal on a flight, learning about the local culture of the destination you’re headed to – it’s a great way to while away the hours after work.

When it’s finally time to take off on an adventure, the temptation to forget about life back home is hard to overcome. This will probably hurt your credit score: It’s easy to neglect a bill payment when you are out of your usual routine. To avoid this fate, it’s wise to set up email or text reminders for your billing due dates so that you’ll know when it’s time to pay, no matter where you are in the world.

3. Gardening

If working on your home or garden is your favorite way to relax, you are probably making frequent trips to major home improvement warehouse stores. If so, you might have considered applying for the retail credit cards offered by these big-box merchants. While in some cases it might make sense to do so, it’s a bad idea to finance a big project by opening several cards at once – this could spell trouble for your credit.

Too many in the span of a few months is problematic because it’s perceived as a signal you’re in financial trouble. Waiting about six months between credit card applications is wise for most people. If your score isn’t in good shape to begin with, you might be better off putting as much as a year between new requests.