@720ismygoal wrote:
Hello Professors!
I have been stuck in the low 600(EQ-611 AND TU-620) for a few months and it doesn't seem to move any further, other than 2 or 3 points per month or so. I have capital one since October 2010, 500 cl, Journey by capital one since April 2011, 500 cl and walmart credit card April 2011, 300 cl and AU for a sears citi mastercard, since march 2011, 300 cl. i have a few recent lates, 30,60 and 90 days from sallie mae loans and applied bank(I'm current with applied bank, but the damage has been done). I really don't know what else to do, other than, continue PIF every month and letting time heal my past.i tried having those baddies removed, but no luck. Any input is appreciated.
Thanks!
Welcome to the Forums.
I'll throw out a few things and let others give their opinions. Those lates of course are hurting you especially the 90 day late. Although all negatives eventually begin to lose their sting a 90 day late is a biggie and will hurt for the entire 7 years it can report. I would continue to try and GW (Good Will) these lates to be removed early. For the student loan lates you might try posting something on the Student Loans board and see if someone can give you help because SL's seem to be treated a little differently that other loans.
You mention you have several credit cards but you didn't give utilization (total balances divided by total available credit limits) for the cards. One fast way to raise your score is to get overall and individual account utilization low and keep it low.
Everyone's situation is different and there is no one size fits all approach to this but what seems to work well for most people is to have only one of their cards report a small (<9% of it's credit limit) balance each month and then pay in full before the due date. You can use it as much as you want during the month but what's important is the reported balance because for most cards whatever is reported on the monthly statement is what is used to calculate utilization for the month.
You might have to play around with the percentages for a few months to see what works best for you. Some people say that 1-3% utilization helps the most. For others it might be 5-9%. As I said it's not one size fits all.
On any other cards always try and have them report a zero balance each month. That doesn't mean you can't use them just make sure that the desired zero balance on these accounts is achieved several days before their statements post.
Now this tactic certainly doesn't have to be done each and every month unless you are trying to tweak your score as much as possible for a potential upcoming credit application or are repairing and rebuiding your credit.
From a BK years ago to:
EX - 3/11 pulled by lender- 835, EQ - 2/11-816, TU - 2/11-782
"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they've made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem".
