But what many people do not realize is that there are many things they can do to unintentionally sabotage their financial picture and their credit score as a whole.

The credit score is a very sensitive thing and can be greatly affected by things that the regular consumer does that they think will have little or no affect on their score.

But the opposite is actually true.
Everything from opening or closing a credit card, to even moving can affect your credit score ? and most of the time it is for the worse.

A recent article featured on AOLMoney.com, ?Top 5ive credit score mistakes,? discusses the most common things that consumers do to hurt their credit score that are actually quite easy to avoid.

The number one thing that consumers do that drastically decreases their score, and thus prevents them from receiving favorable rates and terms on a loan, is missing a credit card payment.
?It goes without saying that late payments hurt your credit. What many people don't realize is how much. ?Being reported as delinquent in paying your bills is the biggest whammy for your score,? says Craig Watts, a spokesman for Fair Isaac, the company that calculates FICO scores. A single late payment could sink you by as much as 100 points, especially if your credit history has been good up to that point.?
The next common mistake that people make is maxing out their credit cards. Even if a person has a perfect payment history but has used up the available limit on their credit card, their score will suffer.

Be sure that you never use more than half of your available credit limit at one time.
The next thing a consumer can do to ruin their score is apply for too much credit at one time. Each time you apply for a credit card or loan your score is negatively affected, so make sure you limit the amounts of credit inquiries during a specific time span.

One surprising thing that can hurt a score is closing a credit card that you no longer use.
?Many folks think closing unused credit cards will improve their credit score. Quite the opposite: Closing unused accounts in fact decreases your score, Watts says. Why? You're eliminating a chunk of available credit, which then automatically increases your credit utilization, or how much of your available credit you're using. Credit utilization is responsible for a hefty 30% of your credit score, so the effects of closing a credit card with a generous limit could be pretty severe.?

The last mistake that people make, which is largely unavoidable in the first place is moving. This is because when you move bills can get lost in the mail that you have forgotten about and will be reported to collections before they are even reported to the person in some cases. Just be sure that you keep track of all your bills and what you owe when you move so even if you don't have the statement you can still pay.