Aside from alerting you of any fraudulent activity or inconsistencies, a credit monitoring service can also help you effectively manage your credit. The Downsides of A Credit Monitoring Service - According to credit experts, it s quite impossible for each company to effectively monitor each of their client s credit report on an hourly basis. Pay Your Obligations On Time Always make sure that you pay off all types of debt or bills on time. Late payments or any delinquencies will truly have a major effect on your credit score. If you forget to pay one or two of your bills on time, prepare to have some red marks or black eyes on your credit history. Pay Your Bills On Time Each time you use your credit card for making various purchases, always remember to pay your bills in full each time they come due. Timely payments make for happy credit card owners, while late or missed credit card payments are an exercise in futility, and paves the way for your constant haranguing by collection agencies, and also cuts deep wounds in your credit score. Unpaid Library Fines And Parking Tickets Even small stuff such as an unpaid $25 library fine or $50 parking ticket, can inflict a painful pinch on your overall credit score. Today, most municipal and city governments are turning to collection agencies to salvage hese unpaid bills, especially if your dilly-dally on repaying them. Avoid Applying For Unnecessary Credit Always ensure that you avoid those new credit card offerings at the mall or department store, because all the newly added credit, no matter how small, are sure to do harm to your credit score. Make it a habit to only apply for credit that you truly need, and can afford paying off. Arrange For Automatic Payments For Every Type Of Loan To keep your sanity intact during a financial crisis, it would help if you carefully manage all your bill payments. By arranging for an automatic payment system for all your bills and loans, you won t need to scamper to the bank each time you forgot to pay the utility bill, or the credit card loan.