Repairing your credit is a long process. As much as you would love to repair your credit overnight, it’s going to take some time. While it is happening, you’re going to need to be careful. Making a mistake during the process can set you back to a frustrating spot. You may even find yourself with more unpaid debt and a worse credit score than when you began!

For this reason, we want to ensure that you are educated as far as what you should avoid doing while you are working to repair your credit. This includes:

#1 Missing some credit card payments in lieu of others. Prioritizing payments is smart. Skipping some payments in order to put money towards others is not. If you want your credit to improve (and you do!), you should not miss payments. Your credit will continue to get worse instead of better if you miss some payments, even if you’re making others. If you absolutely have to choose between paying a collection account or paying an account that is still current, pick the account that is current.

#2 Canceling credit card accounts. A lot of people do not realize that closing a credit card can be bad for your credit score, especially if it is a credit card that has plenty of room on it or one of your older credit cards. Closing the account negatively affects your open lines of credit. When you close a credit card account, you are reducing the amount of open credit available to you. This can cause your credit utilization rate to increase, which could have a negative impact on your credit score. You will never improve your credit score by closing a credit card, so think twice about canceling one.

#3 Talking directly to debt collectors. When you’re contacted by a debt collector, the best thing you can do is simply tell them to send it to you in writing and to stop calling. Without admitting the debt is yours, ask who the original creditor was, the original debt amount, and how much is still owed. Then, ignore their phone calls and let a professional help repair your credit.

#4 Applying for any new loans. Now isn’t the time to buy a new house, car, boat, sofa, or anything else that requires you to take out a loan. Do not even open a new credit card. Any “hard” inquiry on your credit right now should be avoided at all costs.

#5 Filing bankruptcy. You should not use bankruptcy as a credit repair tactic. While an important resource for some, it should be seen as a last resort. Bankruptcy will not improve your credit and in some cases, your credit can get worse after filing bankruptcy. It will stay on your credit report for seven to 10 years, so you will continue having trouble getting credit cards and loans for years to come.

Perhaps the biggest mistake of all is putting off credit repair indefinitely. Beyond this, you’ll also want to avoid any of the things mentioned above.