Other than keeping bills current what can one do to raise Fico score? I have a small limit store card, almost paid down. I may ask to raise its limit, & apply for a regular M/C / Visa. I also have a debit MC.





Other than keeping bills current what can one do to raise Fico score? I have a small limit store card, almost paid down. I may ask to raise its limit, & apply for a regular M/C / Visa. I also have a debit MC.
MANY MEN WANTED TO LAY ME DOWN, BUT FEW WANTED TO LIFT ME UP
-Eartha Kitt
Unfortunately, there's not one answer to your question, but a great place to start is here...
http://www.myfico.com/crediteducation/
You can also try to do some other searches through Google on the subject. It takes time and patience to raise your credit score, but paying your bills on time every month brings you one step closer to that goal. Good Luck!
^ Actually, paying the bills that report every month brings you one step closer. Most utility companies do not report. That being said, having a Debit MC does nothing for you. You need to pull your credit report and begin disputing EVERYTHING NEGATIVE on it. If there are old items on there (more than 5-7 years) disputing them will delete them permanently off your record. But, the first thing you need to do is find out what is bringing your FICO down and then go from there.





Well, thanks, I am awaiting a CR in the mail...
MANY MEN WANTED TO LAY ME DOWN, BUT FEW WANTED TO LIFT ME UP
-Eartha Kitt
Financing a car or something will do it too, if you make every payment on time. You get major props if you pay it off early (but not TOO early; it should take at least a year).
That said, once I've paid off this thing, I will NEVER EVER finance a car again. Debt SUCKS.
i just checked mine today and some of the reasons of low scores are:
keeping a high balance on your credit card
not having credit long enough
taking out loans
I know it's so weird that you can only have a good Fico score if you have loans that you're paying off, but it won't get higher untill your loans are actually paid off.
My suggestion is to NOT sign up for credit cards





What do you mean by 'on time'? On time like no collections that have been delcared on the card or on time like itll get reported if you are 1 day late of the payment due date?
you live like an ivy vine
you can only survive by clinging onto trees
that's your flaw
put down some roots so you can stand on your own
-Kenpachi





on time i.e. the creditor doesn't report your payment as being late and no 'late fees' are charged ... which may actually require that you send in the payment up to 7 days before the actual 'due date' to allow for processing delays.
"On time" as in, automatic bill pay is your best bet. Just make sure the money is in your account well in advance.
Originally Posted by Meea
It's always a double-edged sword.However, the most tell-tale of your credit score is that you have credit that is almost maxed out (or at least being maintained at around 50% percent of your total line of credit). Using your credit line and then paying it off every month will raise your score. Of course, since you've not had credit long enough, you need to establish a credit paying history...so you WANT to leave some money on the credit card and make payments. However, you should NOT charge up $4,000 on a $5,000 limit card. And, then make small payments on that. Big no-no. Most people use credit WRONG (hence all the bankruptcies) because credit SHOULD be used in terms of, "I have the cash to pay for this and still make all of my regular bills and eat. However, I would rather earn more interest on my money sitting in the bank, so I'll charge this on my card and pay it off at the end of the month." Not, "Well, I don't have enough cash for this, so I'll charge it and pay it off." With the second thought, you just keep raising your repay amount to the point you cannot charge anymore.
If you were to pull your monthly "debted" amount on your credit card to be around 10% of what your credit limit is...and make payments on that...you would notice that your credit score would go up. You can also have several credit cards...that you charge small stuff on and pay off...or make a few payments on it...and still have/get great credit. The difference is always in what you have available vs. what you have charged.
Assuming that there is nothing else on your report (collections, etc), if you have $5,000 credit line:
Your credit will be much higher if your average monthly balance comes in at around $500 (10% of your available credit line).
Your credit will still be ok if your average monthly balance comes in at around $1250 (25% of your available credit line).
However, your credit will DROP, majorly, if you have $2,500+ charged on the card (50% of your available credit line).
Now, here is the thing. Your credit company will report your HIGH balance (which means, how much you charged up) and then report your payment (how much you paid off). If you charged $2,000 on the card and paid off $1,500 of it, (and then you made $80 payments as opposed to the $65 required payment) then it will reflect well on you. If you charge $2,000 and paid the monthly required $65 on it...it'll begin to drop your credit score. And it will keep dropping until you free up more credit. This is where people get trapped...they keep using up the limit on the credit cards...until the point their credit is too low to get more credit and they end up filing for bankruptcy.
It goes like that for each card. So, just remember, it's good to make payments on your cards to establish payment history, however, you need to make sure your charges are small and can be paid off within a month or two of being made...when you make another charge, it should also be able to be paid off.
When Scorp and I were fixing his credit, we got a high rate card and his limit was $1500. He would charge stuff on it and every time he did that, we would move money over to a savings account. The money would sit there and then we would make the majority of the payment to pay off the card, but leave a couple hundred on the card for the "payment history" roll-over. We were never worried about it because we had more money to cover it all in the bank. That was almost 2 years ago. His credit score has gone from 570 to almost 700 (the credit cards were in addition to car loans, as well). He's now got the high interest card (which is clear, nothing on it) and an American Express with 3.9%. As soon as we get another card with a low interest rate, we'll close out the high interest rate card.
As for the car loan, we got a mid-range price car (around $8,000) with a super high interest rate (19%). He paid on it for a year and a half, at which point he refinanced it and the rate dropped to 12%. We also had to buy a new car because our old one was almost 12 years old and needed to be retired. We bought a 2004 Subaru and his financing on it came in at 7%. We'll hold onto that car for another 6-7 months, at which point we'll look at refinancing it and getting a lower rate.
It's all a game...and as with any other game, the best way to win, is know the rules. Go read up as much as you can about getting/maintaining/restoring great credit and train yourself to follow those guidelines as much as you can.
Everyone can have great credit, but it takes lots of effort and concious thought to do so. Good luck!
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