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New to site and credit! Any advice?

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Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: New to site and credit! Any advice?

Thanks everyone for the advice! I am definitely going to wait on applying for anymore lines of credit, so I'll be gardening with you all! By the way, I have 0%apr on my Capital One and Citi card, but I am still going to try to pay those down as soon as possible! Is there an ideal amount that I should have in savings? Also, what company would you recommend I refinance with? Thanks! 

Message 11 of 12
TheConductor
Established Contributor

Re: New to site and credit! Any advice?

In the longer term, it is a good idea to have sufficient savings to cover 6 to 12 months of your total expenses (rent, car, groceries, gas, etc). 

 

For now, just focus on first saving enough to be secure in sudden short-term emergencies.  With your income, $500 to $1000 is probably sufficient to get you through a bad month. Once you amass an emergency fund, be disciplined about never touching it unless a real emergency comes up.  It's your personal safety net, not a trip to Bermuda fund.  Smiley Happy

 

As for the refinance, shop around! There's no one best source for car loans or mortgages...they all offer different rates to different borrowers, so it's ultimately a matter of which lender regards you as less risky than the others.  Spend some time getting competing offers and take the best one you can find.

 

I will say that in general, I have had good luck getting favorable car loan terms from local credit unions, and they are good places to explore when you are shopping.  Even if you're not a member of a given CU yet, most will run your credit and quote you terms for the loan. If you choose to accept the offer, you'll just need to make a modest deposit (typically between $10 and $25) to open a savings share account and become a member of that CU before they can execute the loan.  

Starting: EQ 622 (myFICO 7/7/12), EX 696 (TU FAKO 8/14/12), TU 621 (CK TransRisk 7/24/12), Total CL $1k on 2 TLs
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Message 12 of 12
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