All it takes is one little drop in your credit rating to spark a surge of lender notifications about higher interest rates, lower credit limits and denied applications. Fair Isaac's FICO score, which most lenders use, rates consumers' creditworthiness on a scale of 300 to 850 -- 850 being a perfect score. To avoid falling from grace, make sure not to make any one of these five mistakes.

1. Missing a Payment ...   more »