Help

[jbee]

Hello everyone,

I'm in the process of re-building and need some help from the pros  Here are my questions.

1.  My CC are all completely maxed out (which will probably explain my 624 CS).  I have 6 CC and the lowest balance is around $600.  My plan was to pay this one off this Friday, but I'm wondering if I should get this one down to 50% and pay the other $300 and get one of the other cards down below 100% to impact my score.

2.  What would you suggest that I start off purchasing here on MyFico?  Credit Alerts or should I just get the credit reports.

Thanks so much for your help.

[guiness56]

I would use what money you have to get all of them maxed out below that.  Is that possible?

Even with them all still high, not being maxed out will help.

If they all are maxed out, just getting one below that isn't going to help a lot.

[jbee]

So are you saying to maybe pay an extra $100 on each of them?  That will only get them down to around 98%....Is that not considered being maxed out?

[guiness56]

Anything above 90% is maxed out for FICO purposes.

I didn't know if the $600 was all you had to work with. 

If it is, pay 300 on one and get another card down below max.  It is a start and may help.  You would then have a few cards not maxed out.

[jbee]

Yes, I only have around $600 extra each month that I can put toward credit cards.  Do you think it's a good idea to order the free yearly credit report and only order score watch here?  I really don't know where to start.  Thanks for your help

[39Xelor]

Paying anything you can will help! Utilization is a big part of your score.. so when you max a card out it will surely reflect on your score. So, i would start paying down debt asap! As much as you can afford too!

[guiness56]

To get the most detailed and accurate reports, get them from annualcreditreport.com.  If something is on those and not on another, go by them.  No matter what else you decide to get, get those free reports.

For here, SW is good for monitoring your EQ report and score.

As for all three, I have IDProtect, which is free through my bank and they monitor all three for changes.  You can also purchase it.  Just not the scores.

[jbee]

Thanks guys.... I'm going to pay $300 on two cards and get both down under 80%.  That will leave 4 cards maxed out, so I will work on those next month.  I'm hoping to get all of them down under 50% by June

[Chris679]

The fastest way to pay off credit card debt is pay the minimum on all cards and any extra cash to the one with the highest interest rate. No sense worrying about your credit score until you get them paid off or at least close.