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How old are these collections and lates?
dooodooo wrote:
I have been on the boards since April of 2007 and my score has gone from 579 to 665 in that time period. I'm wondering what, if anything, should I do next? I currently have: 1 credit card with Web Bank - credit limit is $500 and balance is $39.00. Student Loans - $75,000 - I pay $400 per month and will do so forever. I paid off my auto loan in full in December and score dropped 19 points. I have 2 Collection accounts with AFNI - still fighting them and am preparing to sue them in January. What else can I do to improve my credit score? I have no other collection accounts and have written many goodwill letters to get rid of lates, with about 75 percent success. The credit card I have is pretty much a junk credit card that I obtained when my credit was poorer. I have had it now for two years and a couple of months. I make around $90,000 per year and have had the same job for a little over two years. Should I apply for a new credit card and if so, which one? Would I be denied based upon the two AFNI collection accounts? I want to have a real credit card with a higher balance. I am scared that eventually the junk credit card might be canceled and don't want to be stuck without one. I want to not be afraid to apply for credit.
dallasjetfan wrote:
I got Hooters, Juniper and Cap ONe with similar scores and income. If I were you, with that income I would have those loans paid in about 2 years before I would get into debt with more credit. Your scores have come up nicely!!
I agree completely, too bad I didn't realize this right when I graduated though. I paid off about $3-4K early (only had $16K total), but the interest rate is now 2.6% before the tax deduction!!!
cheddar wrote:Also, student loan interest is tax deductible. Whether OP should pay them off early depends entirely on the rates OP is paying on an after-tax basis.
For all but the highest SL rates, it is usally not beneficial to pay them off early.