During this season many go on shopping sprees and tend to over spend as it is so easy to do, many also apply for new credit cards. I just wanted to remind our clients that this could have negative consequences. For example, department stores tend to ask if you’d like to apply for their credit card in order to receive a certain percentage off your purchase. That means that they will pull your credit, resulting in new inquiries reporting on your credit profile. As you may already know, inquiries lower your score. Finally, when using credit cards please remember that due to purchases your balances will go up. You want to try and not max out your credit cards, as this lowers your score as well.