Quick one because I see this mistake constantly:

Most people think paying their credit card balance before the due date is what protects their credit score. It's not — that just avoids interest and late fees.

What actually moves your utilization (the #2 factor in your score, right behind payment history) is your balance on your statement closing date, not your due date. Those are two different dates.

Example: $1,000 limit. You run up $300 during the month. If you pay $250 down before the statement closes, only $50 gets reported to the bureaus — 5% utilization. Pay that same $250 the day before it's due instead, and the bureaus already saw the full $300 reported — 30% utilization — even though you paid it off in full either way.

Same payment. Same card. Different number reported, because of timing.

Find your statement closing date (it's on your last statement, separate from the due date) and pay down before it hits, every cycle. That's the one lever most people never pull.

I break down the other 5 things that actually move a credit score — and the stuff that doesn't matter as much as people think — in a private manual I put together. Posted it here if anyone wants the full breakdown.