Are a you a fan of just charging it all and then paying the bill when it comes? According to CreditCards.com that may be damaging your credit score. Not only where you buy but what you buy seems to have an impact on a credit card company’s profile of spenders. Prior to the new credit card law, companies would  use the information about your purchases to lower your spending limit.

This made me reflect on two young ladies I saw making purchases of less than $15 at a thrift store. Would that purchase reflect on their credit score or spending habits? The only time I spend less than $15 on a credit card happens when a large department store has a special sale and you get an additional percentage off of any purchase made with the store’s credit card.

Cash on the other hand for certain purchases is hard to trace. Granted, if you are making a small purchase and you have a problem with an item, you would be less likely to be upset about a faulty $15 dollar item than you would for a faulty $150 or $1500 dollar item.

Where and how much you spend with your credit card, gives credit card companies an accurate picture of who you are – at least through your purchases. If you only use your purchases for certain items, then they have a flawed picture. But if you use cash for many of your purchasesthen credit card companies will have a skewed picture of you.

For an example of what types of purchases will affect your credit score, try the interactive shopping cart. Certain purchases decrease your score considerably, while other seemingly innocuous purchases will raise your score considerably.

You can’t always pay for items with cash, especially online purchases but if you are prudent in your spending with your credit card, then your score and credit limit may suffer less.