Credit Cards

[txjohn]

Here is a FICO Simulator / Estimator which is "powered by MyFICO"

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/fico/calc.asp

For those who say "what if I do x, y or z....what will my score be" here is an opportunity to "what if" and see the potential results of your hard work....and to help you determine what areas to focus on first for maximum results.

Here are some very useful financial calculators here:  

http://www.bankrate.com/calculators.aspx

Use these calculators to figure out payments and budgets.  You can also use the CREDIT CARD CALCULATOR to see how much you are going to pay out if you only pay minimums. 

Message Edited by txjohn on 04-19-2009 02:33 PM

[haulingthescoreup]

You can also access it from the myFICO site:

FICO® Score Estimator

When you're putting in your info, just use the info from one report at a time. So don't enter all your inqs, just one bureau's worth, etc.

This is a fun way to motivate yourself to get going on the GW's --try running your history through without any lates.

[txjohn]

Definitely a good "motivator" to get to see your potential FICO scores.

Both links use the same simulator.  Bankrate.com uses the MyFICO engine.  I just like Bankrate.com because they have many other handy financial calculators, great articles and info all in a single site that I have found to be reliable.

If it weren't the MyFICO simulator on bankrate, I wouldn't have posted that link

[VEEnVEGAS]

I hope you don't mind if I add a link to my favorite credit calculator, one I think could be useful to many people here who are trying to get out from under credit card debt.

Enter your credit balances, APRs,and minium payments and it will show you detailed instructions for paying off debt most efficiently and quickest.

http://cgi.money.cnn.com/tools/debtplanner/debtplanner.jsp

[txjohn]

Please feel free to add useful resouces.

I just wanted a thread that provided calculator and simulator resources for planning credit cleanup to household budgets. 

So many new posts are "how will this effect my score"  and others are "what rate can I expect"  or "how much should I pay"  or "what will my payments be"

Hopefully this might get a sticky, because these are ever needed resources for the veteran and newbie.

Message Edited by txjohn on 04-19-2009 02:33 PM

[smallfry]

When I use the Estimator I get a range of 770-820 for my TU based on what my report will look like in 1 year. The Simulator on the report I got this morning from TU Fico gives me a range of 720-740. My current score is 720. The last time I ran a Simulator for EQ the mid range score was around 770 I believe. 

[txjohn]

Some things I like about the ESTIMATOR better than Simulator. 

The Estimator allows me to calculate for things the Simulator won't, such as Derogs dropping, etc.  The Simulator only allows for Payments on time, pay off, etc.  But it doesn't allow you to say, what if I GW this late?

I have found the Estimator "range" to be accurate in my experience.  And provide me with more incite than the simulator working from existing reports.

[haulingthescoreup]

I like to run the Estimator every 2-3 months. It's a great time machine, letting you know where you might have been, if only.

It doesn't seem to ask quite enough questions, though, which might fine-tune the projected score range a bit better.

[smallfry]

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haulingthescoreup wrote:
I like to run the Estimator every 2-3 months. It's a great time machine, letting you know where you might have been, if only.

It doesn't seem to ask quite enough questions, though, which might fine-tune the projected score range a bit better.

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Does the Simulator take into account my BK dropping which will be gone in 11 months? I find it hard to believe my TU score will remain basically unchanged in two years even though my average age will be 2 years higher.

[haulingthescoreup]

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smallfry wrote:

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haulingthescoreup wrote:
I like to run the Estimator every 2-3 months. It's a great time machine, letting you know where you might have been, if only.

It doesn't seem to ask quite enough questions, though, which might fine-tune the projected score range a bit better.

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Does the Simulator take into account my BK dropping which will be gone in 11 months? I find it hard to believe my TU score will remain basically unchanged in two years even though my average age will be 2 years higher.

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I think what you'd have to do is re-run the sim with all the correct figures info from your reports, but this time when it asks if you've ever had a PR, answer "no." That will calculate your score as if it hadn't happened.

This is a problem with both the estimator and the sims --they don't project the effect of negatives dropping off in the near future.