Keeping your credit score at a decent level

So in an economy that sucks people have many concerns about their credit scores. My rule of thumb is if you do not have the cash to buy the item you probably should not be buying it. it is ok if you buy the item on your credit card because you do not have cash with you at that moment but then you should automatically later that day or the next pay atleast half of what the item cost on your credit card.
The number one thing that you should do is request your credit report every 3 months from a reliable source like equifax or experian.
Make sure that your credit report is actually yours.
Make sure there are no errors on the report and no accounts in your name that you yourself did not open.
Check your credit card statements to make sure you were not wrongfully charged or doubly charged.

more on this later