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As we approach the holidays, the stress of overspending can be tremendous. What steps are you taking so that you ring in the New Year not drowning in debt? What new ideas or plans do you have so that 0% promos don't sway you away from your goals? If you have a plan or strategy that you would like to share, please do!
I know you are all hard at work with your credit goals. Have you progressed as far as you hoped? Were there any unforseen expenses that cropped up and may have thrown you off schedule?
As a reminder, participation in these monthly check-ins is optional, but encouraged. The goal is to help keep you on track, so feel free to post your progress updates here. This is a no-judge zone; feel free to say what's keeping you up at night or give yourself a kudo for having it all together.
Did you hit any potholes or speedbumps? Achieve some milestones, either small or mighty? Change your goals or add new ones?
Let us know how you're doing!
What have been your biggest accomplishments
and obstacles so far in the myFICO Fitness Challenge this year?
Good morning everyone! This is my December check-in.
Update:
Stay positive & focused so we can meet our goals!!
@beautifulblaquepearl wrote:Good morning everyone! This is my December check-in.
Update:
- Garden - started 09/28/16 and still going strong
- Increase CL on a couple of cards - increased IT CL by $1500
- Combine Cap 1 accounts - still unable to combine
- @Reduce utilization - weekly payments: I chose the Snowball Method since my debt is @ 0% interest.
Stay positive & focused so we can meet our goals!!
beautifulblaquepearl, great progress! I just joined the garden as of yesterday. I was wondering, would you mind sharing the code for your siggy code with me? I like how yours look, but I can't get mine to look like that to save my life!
Decided to cut my balance testing short and just get clean for January and an annual 3B pull to ring in the New Year! Hopefully got the payments in on time for statement cuts on some lenders but I should get under the magic ~1/3 ratio on my file. Did get a small boost on some FICO 8 scores and I'm not entirely sure why but every little bit counts haha.
I'm clean on EQ/EX in 12 more months unless I get EE, and after a 5 year journey I'm getting a little excited to be on the home stretch! (at least for the bureaus I care about)
Edit: the heck! According to EX they just whacked my tax lien
Hey everyone!
I'm now sitting in the garden on pins and needles while I wait to see what damage (or restoration) I caused to my final score goals. For whatever reason, I thought it was a good idea to let the new accounts' statements cut with a balance and then PIF, but from some alerts received when my new USAA account reported a balance last month, EQ won't like this! And EQ is what I need to move up - not down!
@Anonymous wrote:Hey everyone!
I'm now sitting in the garden on pins and needles while I wait to see what damage (or restoration) I caused to my final score goals. For whatever reason, I thought it was a good idea to let the new accounts' statements cut with a balance and then PIF, but from some alerts received when my new USAA account reported a balance last month, EQ won't like this! And EQ is what I need to move up - not down!
Hello Everyone! I hope all are having a wondering Holiday weekend!
Sometime I wonder about myself! How many times have I read on this site, all cards reporting a $0 balance except one to maximize fico scoring?
So, can someone please tell me why I had it in my head to let my new CCs report a balance? Seriously??! This is similar to my blunder at the end of September, where I decided to let all my CL report $0 - which cause me to drop some serious points. Sometimes, I just don't know what goes on upstairs. LOL
Now the new and old TLs are beginning to report... slowly and so far, the damage hasn't been too bad.
I just received an alert that my EQ increased by 3 points after my Costco Citi card reported it's balance. Whoo hoo! I was concerned about this card in particular because of it's util being at 24% . I should have just paid the darn thing in full before the statement cut. My overall util is less than 6%, so maybe that will cover my many blunders this month. LOL! Needless to say, I've been sweating bullets lately.
There is a very small chance I just may still meet the goals when my SSL reports at the end of the month.
Wish me luck.
If you've already got that SSL paid down pre-report, when it lands you should likely be north of your goal scores if that is your only installment line.
I'm going to miss my goal score (EQ Beacon 5) even though I'm at the highest I've ever been on FICO 8 (well except when my tax lien came off for a week haha) at the end of this year so that's something at least.
@Revelate wrote:If you've already got that SSL paid down pre-report, when it lands you should likely be north of your goal scores if that is your only installment line.
I'm going to miss my goal score (EQ Beacon 5) even though I'm at the highest I've ever been on FICO 8 (well except when my tax lien came off for a week haha) at the end of this year so that's something at least.
Merry Christmas, Revelate!
Yes, I did pay it down to the $42 making the util < 9% and it's the only open installment I will have. But I'm not sure whether it will help my mortgage scores. From what I've read, I should definitely get a bump with fico 8, but I'm nhow much of a bump...I hear that YMMV going off in my head. LOL!
I suppose it's not critical to meet the year end goals. But... I just HATE not meeting goals set. It'll flat piss me off. I've been pissed off a lot lately. Haha!
@Anonymous wrote:
@Revelate wrote:If you've already got that SSL paid down pre-report, when it lands you should likely be north of your goal scores if that is your only installment line.
I'm going to miss my goal score (EQ Beacon 5) even though I'm at the highest I've ever been on FICO 8 (well except when my tax lien came off for a week haha) at the end of this year so that's something at least.
Merry Christmas, Revelate!
Yes, I did pay it down to the $42 making the util < 9% and it's the only open installment I will have. But I'm not sure whether it will help my mortgage scores. From what I've read, I should definitely get a bump with fico 8, but I'm nhow much of a bump...I hear that YMMV going off in my head. LOL!
I suppose it's not critical to meet the year end goals. But... I just HATE not meeting goals set. It'll flat piss me off. I've been pissed off a lot lately. Haha!
Merry Christmas!
Well I hit 700 on EQ 04 (FICO 5 here) for one shining moment for my mortgage pull last year, but beyond that I've been at a 693 for the past several years... and that's all tied to the number of inquiries I have on EQ. When I get down to two inquiries there I'll be at 700 and unfortunately I tried a refi and then did a HELOC so I picked up two more inquiries I wasn't expecting. Such is life, and life > FICO so ain't trippin about missing the goal.
The SSL only helps with the Experian score on the mortgage trifiecta as that is FICO 98 (Experian Risk Model v2) but both of the EQ/TU scores flatly ignore it. Still worth doing, may help mix of credit on those two though if you have closed installment lines there it'll be flat.
Next year is the party year for me credit wise.... been 5 years already: Soon FICO, Soon.
Oh I get to plan my goal scores for next year, 800 or bust baby!