I checked my report in April 2010 here on myFICO to see two low scores. TU 671, and EQ 631. I was like man, no wonder I am not getting approved for my refinance on an auto loan that is currently 13.99%.
I had a clean history of paying bills on time but my UTIL was 83% (ouch)! I read here on myFICO for the last 3 months and finally put some of the knowledge to use. I have no baddies on my report, so the ding was pure utilization. I suppose you could say that the 17 inquiries on my EQ are baddies, but only 1 in the last year!
Here is what I started with.
Card / Limit / Balance / APR
BOA / 500 / 496/ 19.99
CHASE / 500 / 430 / 28.99
CAP ONE 750 / 690 / 23.99
Chase 1000 / 890 / 20.99
Chase 1500 / 1290 / 31.99
Mens Warehouse 1400 / 1000 / 23.99
CITI 2500 / 2496 / 29.99 no limit reported
I know these rates are murderous, but they sky rocketed when I accidentally paid my CITI card 1 day late! It was terrible! It had like a ripple effect.
Any here are the accounts now.
BOA / 500 / 0/ 19.99
CHASE / 500 / 0 / 28.99
CAP ONE 750 / 0 / 23.99
Chase 1000 / 0 / 20.99
Chase 1500 / 460 / 31.99
Mens Warehouse 1400 / 905 / 23.99
CITI 2500 / 2076 / 29.99 no limit reported
It took me only a short 3 months to pay these down because the balance were really small, however since then my TU score from 671 is now 731 as of today, and the EQ 631 is now 732 as of Sunday. Yes, these are real FICO scores. I paid the smallest down first for two reasons. I wanted to see progress, and after reading I know that I should have half or less cards reporting and half or less accounts reporting (haven't made that one yet).
I rather pay the small ones off first and put the saving of the min payment to the other cards. Interest is bad but not too terrible as now I only have 3 cards that carry a balance. Next month I will only have the CHASE and CITI card reporting, but as my reports reflect and where I have read the CITI isn't actually included in my UTIL that is why I am not paying it off first as saving money isn't as important as the score itself for me .I am still sure it is bad because it is 2k worth.
I had no idea before April that UTIL was so important. My UTIL is now 24% and plan on getting that down to 9% next month. I will be sure to let you know of the score jump and one less card will be reporting as well. My goal score is 760+I hope that I hit it by DEC because I plan on buying a house.
My oldest account is 4 years 11 months.
AAoA is 3 years 5 months.
1 INQ on EQ and 0 on TU.
I just wanted to share my success with everyone and say thanks myFICO.
PS I do have one installment and 2 auto loans reporting as well so I do have the mix there.
Thanks again!
