How To Protect Your Credit When the Economy Goes South

Pay your bills on time. A single skipped payment can knock 100 points off your FICO scores, the ones most used by lenders. Consider automatic payments and e-mail alerts to make sure bills don't slip through the cracks.

Pay down your debts. What's most important is keeping your credit card balances low relative to your credit limits. Try to use no more than 30% of your credit limits; 10% or less is even better.

Beware of opening or closing accounts. Either can hurt your scores.

Dispute any serious credit report errors. Dispute any accounts that aren't yours or negative information that should have been deleted. (Most negatives, such as late payments or charge-offs, should be dropped after seven years. Bankruptcies can stay on for up to 10 years; unpaid tax liens may be reported indefinitely.)