The key is to use the credit cards WISELY Use them in place of the cash you HAVE, not for the the cash you HOPE to have.
It's really very simple. People get into trouble by using the card instead of the cash they have in their wallet or bank account. Instead of leaving that cash on hand until the card statement arrives, they spend it elsewhere. Now, the statement comes & there's no money & the card balance begins to grow & grow & grow....
And, please, pay retail whenever you can. This drive to the lowest price is simply a trip to the Third World. We all thrive when we all get paid well & make a profit. An honest days wage for an honest days labor. Obviously, this doesn't apply to the thieves & slackers in our World.
"An analog man living in a digital world"
So in the three months I've had my credit card (which i've used and paid off) my credit score has dropped from fair to poor. This is from someone who does not owe anything to anyone, has had a mortgage which was paid off, never late on any bills and never had any bank account in the red. What a joke!
Opening a new credit card can negatively impact your score.
(1) Credit history with that account is short
(2) You now have more credit available to you
(3) Applying for that card raised the number of inquiries
Yup. It will take much more than 3 months to help.
Caldwell D9B - Sold
Crossle' 30/32/45 Mongrel - Sold
RF94 Monoshock - here goes nothin'
Now ya got ME shared skitless!
I use only my AMEX and pay it off every month, I have a few store cards I pay each month, and my mortgage and utilities are the only real monthly bills I have.
ALL my vehicles are paid for.
Guess I'll take a trip to creditkarma.com and see how eff'd I am!
On edit - all is rosey.
I am SUCH a lousy consumer; I just got my first ever 4 door car. Yep, paid cash!
Last edited by glenn cooper; 01.21.15 at 9:56 PM.
A sure sign that Coop's age has passed his reserved car number and Armageddon is near... he has bought a 4 door car.
Last edited by Purple Frog; 09.28.15 at 1:27 PM.
Here's the problem. Because you pay off the balances every month, you have no borrowings.
What the card companies report is: 0 balance and X (your limit) in potential borrowings.
FICO rates you down because, according to its calculations you don't borrow and don't make payments, but you are at risk for borrowing X.
You need to:
- Borrow on the card.
- Pay PART of it down.
- Borrow MORE
- Pay PART of it down
Keep a running balance equal to about 20% of your credit limit. But let it vary.
You need to remember, the FICO score was designed by the credit card companies. Its there to serve their needs. They want you to borrow and keep a balance.
You aren't being a good customer.
Surely my score won't keep going down if i continue to use my credit card and pay it off. There is no way i'm going to keep debt on it.
The only debt I had for many years, aside from credit cards that normally held a zero balance but got used a lot, was the line of credit on my house. It is registered as a mortgage for the amount of the credit line available, and with one exception was the only thing I used to buy cars and such. Usually a mortgage line is pretty cheap, but you do have to register the mortgage which costs something. Once you get the line of credit if you don't use it, it costs you nothing. But the last time I checked my credit score it was somewhere around 750, so I guess someone thought I was credit worthy.
Brian
I do not buy the statement that you have to carry a credit card balance to increase your credit score and that by never carrying a balance you will hurt your score.
I have not carried a balance on any card since about 1996. I do use credit cards for nearly every transaction or purchase.
I have not had a car loan or lease which would show up on my history since about 2005.
Only thing in the last decade is a home mortgage and HELOC. The HELOC was retired over five years ago.
Credit score is not an issue. If you do not want to carry a balance on your card - don't do it.
Mark Silverberg - SE Michigan
Lynx B FV & Royale RP3 FF
240Z Vintage Production Car
PCR, Kosmic CRG & Birel karts
Funny, seems as if none of the posters above actually need a good credit score.
Last edited by Jeremy Soule; 01.22.15 at 9:59 PM. Reason: Sp.
As I understand it, the FICO score is based on 11 years of history. They look at available credit and outstanding credit. Closing an old unused account ,can lower your score because you are using more of your available credit. If you charge and pay off every month you score will eventually go up. Credit scores are not an instantaneous result, which every American wants, but are built up by a credit history.
When my wife an I were first starting out we could not get a mortgage because we both paid cash for everything, two cars, a truck and a Formula Vee. Had to go to a car dealership , bought a new truck, to tow the Vee, and used their captive credit company to get a loan and establish a history.
Remember. Credit card companies make money every time you use their card via merchant fees. They do just fine without the interest on a carried over balance. And, lest we forget their annual fees, minimum balance fees, etc.
We also get extended warranties, dispute resolution, theft protection, record keeping, etc.
"An analog man living in a digital world"
Your post implied you wanted to know how to fix your score. You expressed concern that it dropped. I provided score advice. I never said it fit your financial compass.
No debt is good debt. I too only have a mortgage.
Like every financial vehicle there are a lot of players involved.
MC & Visa live off the merchant fees, but part of the merchant fees go to several intermediary clearing houses. Also, the merchant fees pay for the airline miles, the warranties, the cash back.
Your issuing bank sees very little of all those fees. They get the annual fees, the interest and late charges. But they also are the ones laying out the cash that pays everyone.
Merchant "discounts" as they are called can vary from card to card. Those Capital One cards carry a deep discount (I think I saw nearly 4%) and a smart vendor may just ask you to use a different card!
Its a wild shell game. They want to keep you guessing.
The problem is they've got people like me trapped. If at some point I do need credit i'm screwed. I looked at buying an investmant property but couldn't get a decent mortage on it. A friend of mine who went bankrupt a few years ago and has every credit card under the sun had no problem.
That sounds like a cat Glenn.
Last edited by Purple Frog; 09.28.15 at 1:27 PM.
CREDIT CARD? Use it for Starbucks [SBUX] and Pegasus. Don't know symbol for Pegasus. What's the real secret? No kids.
The British loved to tinker on their cars. Jag was simply satisfying customer demand.
"An analog man living in a digital world"
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