PSA: How To Get Good Credit Score

[Svnla]

Sunny - yup, be responsible and pay your bills on time. Don't buy what you don't need/can't afford.

Hiker - nope, we were saying "Use Credit Card(s) Correctly", not use them as much as possible to buy things that we don't need or can't afford . BIG DIFFERENCE.

Ice - Dave was just being a troll.

Twice - do you have cash to pay for a decent house? Around here it is about $200K. Let see your bank statements showing you have $200K liquid assets.

 

[kami333]

From the link posted in the OP.




This is why you NEVER give your social security number to the doctors office.

Social Security numbers are for paying income tax, and should never be used as a form of identification outside the federal government. If your not paying taxes, there is no reason for a company to have your SS number.

You don't need a SS number to report on someone's credit. It's the easiest way which is why everyone asks for it, but name and address (and DOB) are enough.

 

[Cuda1447]

How does canceling a credit card effect your credit, long term? Say one that you had for a year and then starts charging you an annual fee and you never use the card... ?

 

[TwiceOver]

Twice - do you have cash to pay for a decent house? Around here it is about $200K. Let see your bank statements showing you have $200K liquid assets.

I didn't say you had to have cash to pay for a house. You can. But you certainly don't need a FICO score to buy a house.

 

[Svnla]

How does canceling a credit card effect your credit, long term? Say one that you had for a year and then starts charging you an annual fee and you never use the card... ?

Why did you get a CC and then did not use it at all? <scratching head>. Apply for credit only if you need to, not want to or it will hurt you in #4.

If you have to, then close the CC but it will hurt you in #2 and #3 but if you follow the guide, your credit will get better as time goes by.

I didn't say you had to have cash to pay for a house. You can. But you certainly don't need a FICO score to buy a house.

You "don't HAVE" to have FICO score to buy a house, yes, but if you have a high score, then you will get the best rate/term for your home finance. Just like you "don't have to" have a college degree to get a good job, but it sure helps a lot.

 

[Homerboy]

I didn't say you had to have cash to pay for a house. You can. But you certainly don't need a FICO score to buy a house.

You need one to get a loan. And you need a loan to get a house (in 99% of cases). Good luck getting $100K+ in loan with no FICO.

 

[TwiceOver]

You need one to get a loan. And you need a loan to get a house (in 99% of cases). Good luck getting $100K+ in loan with no FICO.

Nope. A loan underwriter can do the same thing without a FICO.

Just sayin'. I have a home loan, and a good credit score. I'm not anti-fico or anything like that. Just want people to know there are other ways to get a home than building debt and paying it off over and over again just to create some score.

 

[kami333]

How does canceling a credit card effect your credit, long term? Say one that you had for a year and then starts charging you an annual fee and you never use the card... ?

The immediate impact of closing an account is your total utilization rate goes up. You can try getting a credit limit increase on a different card to offset this.

Even if you close it, the account will stay on your credit report for 7 years and count towards your length of history so it's not a total loss.

Close it, no need to keep a CC with an annual fee around if you aren't using it.

 

[Svnla]

.....Just want people to know there are other ways to get a home than building debt and paying it off over and over again just to create some score.

See, this is where you and Texashiker and the likes are wrong in the bolded part.

No where in this thread or in his "going checkless and no credit cards" thread that I or any pro credit posters say let build a lot of debt (buy all the stuffs that we don't need or can't afford) and make minimum payments and pay all the interests/fees/money over and over again to the banks just to get some high score. No way, no how, no where. Point it out where I say that.

Again, let me repeat it again. Be responsible and use CC in the correct way..i.e. use it and then pay off ALL of it before the due date...follow the guide in the OP. DO NOT do it otherwise.

 

[TwiceOver]

See, this is where you and Texashiker and the likes are wrong in the bolded part.

No where in this thread or in his "going checkless and no credit cards" thread that I or any pro credit posters say let build a lot of debt (buy all the stuffs that we don't need or can't afford) and make minimum payments and pay all the interests/fees/money over and over again to the banks just to get some high score. No way, no how, no where. Point it out where I say that.

Again, let me repeat it again. Be responsible and use CC in the correct way..i.e. use it and then pay off ALL of it before the due date...follow the guide in the OP. DO NOT do it otherwise.

I guess my definition of "debt" is a little different. When I spend someone else's money, it's debt, no matter if it is getting paid off tomorrow, end of cycle, or 3 years with interest. So in my eyes, and the bank's eyes really, even by paying it off every month, you are building debt and paying debt.

 

[Train]

I havent loked at my score in over 2 years. Just pulled it, have a score of 808, pretty solid.

All I do is use CC's for just about everythig that I dont have auto debited from my checking, pay off each statement in full. Pay extra on the mortgage every month (even if it is only $20 more.) Paid extra on my car every month until it was paid off.

I rotate 2 cards, my USAA MasterCard and my Discover card. I have a little post-it note in my walet that lists the statement closing dates. When making a purchase, I use whichever cards closing date is further away, thus maximizing the purchase to payoff time. I'm essentially getting ~50-60 days of interest on my money before actually paying off purchases. Plus I can see the bills coming way in advance. Since I stop using a card approx 2 weeks before the statement, I already knwo the exact amount the statement will be. Then once the statement arrives, I schedule a payment with about 1-2 business days to spare before the due date, and plan to set that money aside.

Cash back rewards are nice. The 5&#37; monthly categories from Discover rocks, especially when it's gas or gorceries. Usually my wife buys the groceries but I make sure to use my discover when its grocery month/quarter. And when the 5% is on gas, I make sure to fill up both our cars on the discover.

 

[Svnla]

I guess my definition of "debt" is a little different. When I spend someone else's money, it's debt, no matter if it is getting paid off tomorrow, end of cycle, or 3 years with interest. So in my eyes, and the bank's eyes really, even by paying it off every month, you are building debt and paying debt.

Ok, let me put this way. I said this in Texashiker's thread and I will repeat it again.

Let say you and I are making the same amount of money a year, $50K and we are spending about $5K a month in various expenses.

You - pay everything in cash, nothing but cash. Nothing is wrong with that if you choose to do so.

Me - pay everything with my 2&#37; cashback reward credit card, pay off ALL of it before the due date (so I did not pay a dime in fees/interests/or anything) AND get 2% cash back or $100 a month or $1200 a year and excellent FICO score (over 800 the last time I checked). I don't know about you, but I don't think anyone would turn down "free" money.

I believe that getting cash back for something I need anyway is a good thing as long as I am using it the right way.

 

[TwiceOver]

...Bunch of stuff that in no way relates to what I was quoted as saying...

And that's fine. I never said it wasn't. I never said I DON'T EVER use credit cards. I'm just trying to point out that your FICO score doesn't define you and isn't the end all be all of you getting anywhere in life.

 

[Svnla]

..mumble jumbo bullcrap.....and more mumble useless bullcrap drivel.

See, I can play the same game as you.

I created this thread to help people to better understand finance/credit card/score but you and Texashiker came on in and trolling. If you don't want to use CC for whatever reason, fine but don't come in and knocking it where I said over and over that you have to use it the right way.

One more thing, point out where I said something like "FICO score does define you and it is the end all be all of you getting anywhere in life", expressed or implied.

 

[TwiceOver]

Sigh... OK. You win. And I never said you implied anything, don't know where that came from.

 

[Corporate Thug]

Just pay cash and not worry about it.

right, good luck when you go buy a house or a car:

Salesperson: So why is your credit score so low?
you: I paid for everything I bought in cash.
Salesperson: nice, f*** off.

 

[TwiceOver]

right, good luck when you go buy a house or a car:

Salesperson: So why is your credit score so low?
you: I paid for everything I bought in cash.
Salesperson: nice, f*** off.

You can buy both with cash.

 

[Capt Caveman]

where is the scam? I'm not following

Dave is a poor dumbass with such a poor credit rating he can't even buy vinegar without signing a release form.

 

[Capt Caveman]

And that's fine. I never said it wasn't. I never said I DON'T EVER use credit cards. I'm just trying to point out that your FICO score doesn't define you and isn't the end all be all of you getting anywhere in life.

Some companies use it for hiring and some insurance companies use it for charging premiums.

I guess my definition of "debt" is a little different. When I spend someone else's money, it's debt, no matter if it is getting paid off tomorrow, end of cycle, or 3 years with interest. So in my eyes, and the bank's eyes really, even by paying it off every month, you are building debt and paying debt.

With a rewards card, you can also be making money.

 

[Train]

You can buy both with cash.

... in Detroit.

 

[yh125d]

Hey, credit thread


I'm going to be paying off the last $1400 of a $5k collection (long story) when my tax return comes in next week. What can/should I do insofar as getting a statement from the coll agency saying that the account is paid in full and in good standing, and getting the credit agencies to edit my report to reflect that it is indeed PIF (or perhaps get it removed early? probably wishful thinking)

I have perfect credit otherwise, and want to do anything possible to lower the impact of this on my record, it already screwed me once while trying to get a car loan after mine was totaled

 

[Svnla]

yh125 - I don't have much experience in collection so I will tell you what I know. You should asked the collection company before you started paying the debt, for a signed agreement that if you pay off the debt, they would tell all 3 credit bureau that the debt is pay off and all are welll. Try to contact them now and see what they say. Go here = http://www.creditboards.com/mambo/ for more information about collections related matters.

Caveman - agree, beside employment and insurance, some landlords would check for your credit score, low score = no apt for you. Credit cards also help a lot if you need hotel room, car rental, airplane ticket, buy things online, gas station and on and on. I know you "could" pay with debit cards but credit cards provide more protection and benefits. If you get "high end" credit cards, you would get these extra benefits and protections with zero cost = http://usa.visa.com/personal/visa-signature/benefits/index.jsp

 

[rasczak]

Hey, credit thread


I'm going to be paying off the last $1400 of a $5k collection (long story) when my tax return comes in next week. What can/should I do insofar as getting a statement from the coll agency saying that the account is paid in full and in good standing, and getting the credit agencies to edit my report to reflect that it is indeed PIF (or perhaps get it removed early? probably wishful thinking)

I have perfect credit otherwise, and want to do anything possible to lower the impact of this on my record, it already screwed me once while trying to get a car loan after mine was totaled

Make a deal with teh collections agency to "delete" your account from the credit companies database. Explain in writing that you will provide payment if they delete the account. Once you get a letter agreeing to the stipulation, then make the full payment. Once they get the payment, follow up with them until they complete the request. I have done this with 2 accounts and was successful on both tries. it was tedious, but it the deletion did impact my fico positively.

 

[yh125d]

Make a deal with teh collections agency to "delete" your account from the credit companies database. Explain in writing that you will provide payment if they delete the account. Once you get a letter agreeing to the stipulation, then make the full payment. Once they get the payment, follow up with them until they complete the request. I have done this with 2 accounts and was successful on both tries. it was tedious, but it the deletion did impact my fico positively.

Will I be able to do that since I've already been paying monthly on it for a year or so?

 

[Homerboy]

Make a deal with teh collections agency to "delete" your account from the credit companies database. Explain in writing that you will provide payment if they delete the account. Once you get a letter agreeing to the stipulation, then make the full payment. Once they get the payment, follow up with them until they complete the request. I have done this with 2 accounts and was successful on both tries. it was tedious, but it the deletion did impact my fico positively.

Collection companies usually do not report directly to the credit bureaus though. Collection agencies will report back to the original creditor that the account has been PIF'ed or SIF'ed and in turn, the original creditor will then report back to the credit bureaus.

If there is a judgment on your file, then you can get the SOJ for the account of course.