General Credit Topics

[renie]

I am cleaning up my credit report and my act :-) - I have paid down all my credit cards, but what about accounts with utilities (I have 2) that show negative - they total about $500 - I also have a report from a cell phone company? I also have one deparment store credit card in collection - $400 - I just wonder if someone can advise what to pay first to get my credit score back in good standing - Thanks!

[myFICO_Jen]

I had a similar question about my credit report and what to pay off first.  What I was told is that you should first pay off the most recent stuff first.  I was late 30 days on one of my cards and was told I should pay that off first so it didn't get to 60 days late.  After I got current on all my payments, I then paid off debt that had the highest interest rates.  Unfortunately the collection is a done deal - once something goes into collections, even if you pay it off, it will always show up on your credit report as a negative item, although I think it falls off after about 7 years.  I hope this helps.

[vulcangof]

I have 3 cards.Is it better to pay off  2 cards and leave one with a higher balance, or pay off 1 card and pay down the other 2 cards to a low balances?

[MidnightVoice]

They check the total % util and the util on each line as well.

So all of them, with most to the highest APR?

[Tuscani]

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renie wrote:

I am cleaning up my credit report and my act :-) - I have paid down all my credit cards, but what about accounts with utilities (I have 2) that show negative - they total about $500 - I also have a report from a cell phone company? I also have one deparment store credit card in collection - $400 - I just wonder if someone can advise what to pay first to get my credit score back in good standing - Thanks!

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Doesn't matter.. but you should get a PFD before sending any money.

PS... your scores should have already improved from paying down your cards.

[Tuscani]

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JC15 wrote:

I had a similar question about my credit report and what to pay off first.  What I was told is that you should first pay off the most recent stuff first.  I was late 30 days on one of my cards and was told I should pay that off first so it didn't get to 60 days late.  After I got current on all my payments, I then paid off debt that had the highest interest rates.  Unfortunately the collection is a done deal - once something goes into collections, even if you pay it off, it will always show up on your credit report as a negative item, although I think it falls off after about 7 years.  I hope this helps.

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This is why PFD is so powerful.

[Tuscani]

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vulcangof wrote:

I have 3 cards.Is it better to pay off  2 cards and leave one with a higher balance, or pay off 1 card and pay down the other 2 cards to a low balances?

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Pay down whatever card that has the highest util. Ideal util is 1-9%.