Last article I spoke about the amount of time that negative marks will remain on your credit score. Those ones weren’t so bad. Late Credit Card payments are way more damaging.

Late Payments? Seven Years. Some creditors will show mercy and will delete past credit problems if you settle your account immediately. But, a late payment can happen whether your account is thirty days past due, all the way to 150 past due. Seven years from the first day the delinquency was reported will be the day that the information is removed from your credit report. Fortunately, these negative marks are most common and have the least effect on your credit score.

Tax Liens equal seven years of bad credit. A tax lien commonly occurs when the local state or federal government claims ownership of your property because you haven’t paid your property or income taxes when they were due. No matter how fast you pay them, big brother is mad that you made him go out of his way to seize your property. Seven years.

If you have a tax lien against you that you continue to not pay, it can stay on your credit report for 15 years. The chances of your being able to keep any money from Uncle Sam are slim to none, so might as well pay up now if you are in this position.

Foreclosures are always bad news and they will stay on your credit report for seven years. Considerably one of the most severe negative accounts you can have on your credit report, if you have a foreclosure on your record, your chances of owning another home are shot unless you plan to pay for it entirely in cash.

Defaulting on student loans is not a good idea! Although before the administration of George W. student loans were usually forgiven if they were declared during a bankruptcy hearing, times have changed so it’s important to take these things seriously. Defaulting on a student loan happens after 270 days of nonpayment. And before the loan is defaulted, you can bet your student loan money that you will receive a number of late payment fees.

Here’s where we get to the big one: bankruptcy. Bankruptcy will remain on your report for ten years, and rather than give a creditor your report, you might as well say “I am fiscally irresponsible and will be so for the next ten years.” So you might end up living with that nosy mother in law I mentioned in article 1 after all if you do not keep track of your finances.

Mallory Megan is employed bya debt collection company. She also does stories on the credit industry, business, finance, and debt collection .