It’s best not to carry a card balance from month to month. But if you must carry a revolving balance, spread your spending across your credit cards, rather than using just one. The credit utilization rate impacts 30 percent of your credit score. As soon as you spend more than 25 percent of your available balance on any one credit card, your credit score will start to go down by as much as 50 points. The closer you get to your credit limit on that card, the more your credit score will go down.
Instead, make smaller purchases on your cards so the balance on none of them exceeds that important 25 percent. Of course, in an emergency, this might not be possible. But if you’re just using your credit cards to fill a temporary gap in your finances, keep a close eye on your credit limits and your utilization rate.