Sigh, I thought I was making my credit better

[jandrews]

So my credit has always been pretty average, mid 600s all the way. So about a year ago I decide to get a credit card and make full payments to bring it up a bit. So the last year on the 15th of the month (first bill was do the 20th) I login and pay off the balance and think how nicely this is going. I start looking at my history and somehow I missed that they started switching due dates on me and for the past 5 months my payments have been 'late' according to them sigh. I guess its my fault for not paying close attention but I was trying so hard and now I am afraid to even check my credit score it probably went down if anything.

Arggg!!!!! Oh well, back to the drawing board, maybe by the time I am 30 my credit will be good.

 

[Syrch]

how long was it passed due? it usually doesn't go to your credit report until its 30 or 60 days passed.

 

[dullard]

Sorry to hear that. Fine print and monthly mailers are critical. I see nothing but bad results when people don't read every word AND understand them all.

That said, mid 600s isn't average. It is significantly below average.

 

[jandrews]

Originally posted by: Syrch
how long was it passed due? it usually doesn't go to your credit report until its 30 or 60 days passed.

My balance often seemed a bit off but not by much so I just shrugged it off. Then I checked and on like the 13th of the month they would charge me a 25 dollar late fee. I pay every month punctually on the 15th so maybe things arent reported? They have also upped my balance 5 or so times since I got the card and I thought that was because of my good payment history.

 

[jandrews]

Originally posted by: dullard
Sorry to hear that. Fine print and monthly mailers are critical. I see nothing but bad results when people don't read every word AND understand them all.

That said, mid 600s isn't average. It is significantly below average.

yikes!! I had 660? The scale said it was on par with the average of america, I guess it was wrong?

Ah yes!! You must mean the ATOT average of at least 750 and 100k a year job, my apologies dear sir I will show myself to the door

 

[Strk]

Originally posted by: Syrch
how long was it passed due? it usually doesn't go to your credit report until its 30 or 60 days passed.

It shouldn't do much other than nab you for a bunch of late fees.

And for those quoting what the national average is, it's 676

 

[dullard]

FICO itself: click on "about FICO scores". National median: 723.

 

[jdoggg12]

Originally posted by: jandrews

Originally posted by: dullard
Sorry to hear that. Fine print and monthly mailers are critical. I see nothing but bad results when people don't read every word AND understand them all.

That said, mid 600s isn't average. It is significantly below average.

yikes!! I had 660? The scale said it was on par with the average of america, I guess it was wrong?

Ah yes!! You must mean the ATOT average of at least 750 and 100k a year job, my apologies dear sir I will show myself to the door

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

 

[CTrain]

Originally posted by: jandrews

Originally posted by: dullard
Sorry to hear that. Fine print and monthly mailers are critical. I see nothing but bad results when people don't read every word AND understand them all.

That said, mid 600s isn't average. It is significantly below average.

yikes!! I had 660? The scale said it was on par with the average of america, I guess it was wrong?

Ah yes!! You must mean the ATOT average of at least 750 and 100k a year job, my apologies dear sir I will show myself to the door

Actually, the average credit score is around ~740 according to sources and the median score is 723
Which is weird because most places say once you are above 720, you are lumped together with all the higher scores as "excellent".
I guess half of Americans have "excellent" credit scores then.

 

[jandrews]

Originally posted by: dullard
FICO itself: click on "about FICO scores". National median: 723.

Wow! Well for those that like juicy gossip I can explain why mine is so lackluster. When I was 19 we had an apartment and I moved to florida and my roomates didnt give notice and left the apartment and collections came after me. Also there was another situation where my buddy was the main person on another lease and he claimed he never got the bill and they sent us to collections. Then yet another time when I was 18 I got a credit card and was an idiot.

Anyway, lots of life lessons learned and I am now 25 and make pretty good money and want to be responsible any other advise on things I need to do?

 

[CTrain]

Originally posted by: Strk

Originally posted by: Syrch
how long was it passed due? it usually doesn't go to your credit report until its 30 or 60 days passed.

It shouldn't do much other than nab you for a bunch of late fees.

And for those quoting what the national average is, it's 676

I saw that link.
This link say the average is 740 is I find is extremely high

 

[Kaspian]

Originally posted by: jdoggg12

Originally posted by: jandrews

Originally posted by: dullard
Sorry to hear that. Fine print and monthly mailers are critical. I see nothing but bad results when people don't read every word AND understand them all.

That said, mid 600s isn't average. It is significantly below average.

yikes!! I had 660? The scale said it was on par with the average of america, I guess it was wrong?

Ah yes!! You must mean the ATOT average of at least 750 and 100k a year job, my apologies dear sir I will show myself to the door

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

:thumbsup::laugh:

 

[daveymark]

Originally posted by: jandrews

Originally posted by: dullard
FICO itself: click on "about FICO scores". National median: 723.

Wow! Well for those that like juicy gossip I can explain why mine is so lackluster. When I was 19 we had an apartment and I moved to florida and my roomates didnt give notice and left the apartment and collections came after me. Also there was another situation where my buddy was the main person on another lease and he claimed he never got the bill and they sent us to collections. Then yet another time when I was 18 I got a credit card and was an idiot.

Anyway, lots of life lessons learned and I am now 25 and make pretty good money and want to be responsible any other advise on things I need to do?

creditnet, creditboards etc

 

[jandrews]

Anyway, I am amazed that the average credit score is in the excellent rating then again I suppose it makes sense especially with how often credit improves when people get married and usually one of the people in a marraige has good credit. Also there is a method called piggybacking where you get someone who has excellent credit to add you as a spender on their credit card and that ups your credit score from 500 to 700 almost immediately . They are banning it though in the near future.

Anyway, I will check those credit boards. Sometime in the next 3-4 years I will want to buy a house. I am just suprised how no matter when I make 25k or 50k I always seem to have money management issues, not to mention having a girlfriend doesnt help anyones wallet.

 

[dullard]

Originally posted by: CTrain
I guess half of Americans have "excellent" credit scores then.

About half of the US pays off their bills on time, pretty much all the time (there may be a goof here or there, but most are on time). Thus, companies shouldn't worry about that half. They will pretty much be assured that they'll get their money back when loaning it to someone with a credit score in the upper 50% range. These are all excellent customers to have for a business.

It is those other half that credit scores are all about. Do they sometimes make mistakes, do they frequently make mistakes, do they purposely make "mistakes"? Those are the question that the credit score is intended to help answer. Companies can therefore determine how to handle these people appropriately.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Originally posted by: jandrews
My balance often seemed a bit off but not by much so I just shrugged it off. Then I checked and on like the 13th of the month they would charge me a 25 dollar late fee. I pay every month punctually on the 15th so maybe things arent reported? They have also upped my balance 5 or so times since I got the card and I thought that was because of my good payment history.

You went 5 months being charged an extra $25 each month and never noticed?

You need to read your CC statement each month not just look at the balance due.

For all you know your CC number was stolen at some point and you've also been paying $15 a month to Russian-ScamCo.net for the last 9 months.

 

[dullard]

Originally posted by: jandrews
Anyway, lots of life lessons learned and I am now 25 and make pretty good money and want to be responsible any other advise on things I need to do?

Anyway, I will check those credit boards. Sometime in the next 3-4 years I will want to buy a house. I am just suprised how no matter when I make 25k or 50k I always seem to have money management issues, not to mention having a girlfriend doesnt help anyones wallet.

I believe you are on the proper path, but you got a bit lost. Syrch was correct, it isn't reported late until it is 30+ days late. So, these slightly late payments shouldn't hurt your credit score. They do hurt your wallet, of course.

Lesson #1: You be in charge. No more leaving it up to buddies/roommates to take care of the deals. That way, you can control your destiny and not hope that someone else does you a favor.

Lesson #2: Pay off the CC in full each and every month. You said your salary just doubled. Thus, there should be no reason that you can't pay them off.

Lesson #3: Pay attention to what is on the bill. With your CC paid off in full, there should always be no fees and no interest. If those boxes show fees/interest being charged, then there is a big problem. Call your CC that very day and see what happened. No waiting 5 months without really looking at the bill.

Lesson #4: Get on auto pay. Have your CC automatically withdraw the minimum amount from your checking account each month. You can never be late (as long as you keep that small minimum amount in your checking account). Be sure to pay the remaining amount. But even if you forget, your bill was not late and you get no late fees.

Lesson #5: Heck, pay attention to IF you get a bill. Write a list of every bill you pay in a month and the date it is due. Now write another list with the dates 2 weeks earlier. Pay attention to that second list. Suppose you have a bill due on the 30th. If by the 16th you haven't received a bill AND paid it, then call that company immediately. That'll give you two weeks to get a new bill and everything straightened out.

Lesson #6: Pay the bill the instant you receive it. Don't get your mail and set it aside for later (you may forget).

Lesson #7: Wait it out. Your credit score is already in the mid 600s. In another 3-4 years you'll be golden if you follow those rules above.

 

[ryan256]

Something else I would highly recommend. Get a copy of MS Money or Quicken or something! Some software that will let you input monthly bills and show you when they are due and how much you owe, ect. I did that immediately after getting my first "real job" and have been very happy I did on several occasions.
Also get a cheap $20 usb thumb drive and leave it plugged into the back of your computer to use as a backup for your financial data and use it often. Most of these programs will do it for you automatically every time you close it and even encrypt the data just in case.

 

[thepd7]

Originally posted by: dullard
FICO itself: click on "about FICO scores". National median: 723.

median != average, mean = average

 

[Miramonti]

Autopay ftw.

 

[dullard]

Originally posted by: thepd7
median != average, mean = average

True, but it doesn't matter in this case. Average credit score (740) is slightly higher than the mean (720). Big deal.

 

[nakedfrog]

Originally posted by: dullard
Lesson #6: Pay the bill the instant you receive it. Don't get your mail and set it aside for later (you may forget).

This is one of the great boons for me with the advent of online bill paying. The only bill I can't log onto the company's website to pay is my water bill. Most of the time my bill is paid before the paper version even arrives (for those that still send them).

 

[thepd7]

Originally posted by: dullard

Originally posted by: thepd7
median != average, mean = average

True, but it doesn't matter in this case. Average credit score (740) is slightly higher than the mean (720). Big deal.

it matters to my epenis. I corrected you therefore epenis++. You are an elite member how do you not know this?

 

[kindest]

ive heard you can walk down to your bank and just ask for ilke a 500 dollar loan and pay it back when due (remember this time when its due) and that will help your score.

 

[daveymark]

Originally posted by: kindest
ive heard you can walk down to your bank and just ask for ilke a 500 dollar loan and pay it back when due (remember this time when its due) and that will help your score.

you're thinking of a savings secured loan, which is a little bit different.