topic Re: I'm In To Deep! in Credit Cards

I'm In To Deep!

Anonymous — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 16:05:43 GMT

NO JUST KIDDING! lol

I remember there was a time i would apply for credit like crazy i can say I'm honestly happy with the 10 credit cards that i was approved for this past year an i can go the next 3 years without applying for anymore cards.. I think the only hard thing to do is to keep up with the due dates which i don't have a big issue with. I be so paranoid about missing a payment i check all my online accounts like 3 times a week.

Re: I'm In To Deep!

Anonymous — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 16:28:16 GMT

Congrats on the cards!

As far as keeping track of 'em all, here's what I do. (I posted this in another thread a while back).

I made up a chart on one sheet of paper several years ago. On one side of the sheet, I have all of my credit obligations listed, with each account's statement ending date and payment due date. I have the current outstanding balance listed under the account's name, and add any purchases to that total when I clean the receipts out of my wallet each night.

On the other side of the paper I have my bank accounts listed, along with their available balances. I add or subtract from these balances as deposits or debits are made.

When the statement date comes around for each account, I make the payment and check it off on the chart as paid for that month. I work my way down the list, and start all over again the next month.

How has this helped me to manage my credit, my time and my money? I've got a snapshot of my finances readily available to me any time I like, and it's up-to-date and easy to manage. When a credit card bill or other statement comes in the mail, I open it, check it for errors and then file it away...because it has already been paid, usually online, the day after the statement date (sometimes the day before). I know what I owe and what I've got for cash and when each payment is due, all in one place.

I avoid any technical glitches in getting the payments in on time by focusing on the statement date, rather than the due date. That way, if something screws up, I've got plenty of time to correct it.

I don't know if this would work for you or anyone else, but it works well for me and gives me piece-of-mind on a daily basis. And, I only check the accounts online when it's payment time (statement date). Saves me a lot of time and worry.

Re: I'm In To Deep!

jhtrico1850 — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 02:19:45 GMT

Re: I'm In To Deep!

Anonymous — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 19:22:30 GMT

@jhtrico1850 wrote:
I was once like you, being a new college student and wanting to grow up, I applied for AMEX very month and kept getting denied. After 7+ denials??? in my first attempt of credit, about a year later, and a monster $5000 Citi Forward and a cool Discover $1500 card (on top of my year old BoA $1500 and C1 $1250), I became satisfied with my credit

I still don't have any major cards by Citi Chase Or Discover but 3 years from i should have maybe 2 out of the 3 i just named i'm in no rush anymore.

Re: I'm In To Deep!

Anonymous — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 19:23:30 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Congrats on the cards!

As far as keeping track of 'em all, here's what I do. (I posted this in another thread a while back).

I made up a chart on one sheet of paper several years ago. On one side of the sheet, I have all of my credit obligations listed, with each account's statement ending date and payment due date. I have the current outstanding balance listed under the account's name, and add any purchases to that total when I clean the receipts out of my wallet each night.

On the other side of the paper I have my bank accounts listed, along with their available balances. I add or subtract from these balances as deposits or debits are made.

When the statement date comes around for each account, I make the payment and check it off on the chart as paid for that month. I work my way down the list, and start all over again the next month.

How has this helped me to manage my credit, my time and my money? I've got a snapshot of my finances readily available to me any time I like, and it's up-to-date and easy to manage. When a credit card bill or other statement comes in the mail, I open it, check it for errors and then file it away...because it has already been paid, usually online, the day after the statement date (sometimes the day before). I know what I owe and what I've got for cash and when each payment is due, all in one place.

I avoid any technical glitches in getting the payments in on time by focusing on the statement date, rather than the due date. That way, if something screws up, I've got plenty of time to correct it.

I don't know if this would work for you or anyone else, but it works well for me and gives me piece-of-mind on a daily basis. And, I only check the accounts online when it's payment time (statement date). Saves me a lot of time and worry.

I might try this out thx so much.

Re: I'm In To Deep!

Anonymous — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 19:25:10 GMT

Uborrow-Upay:

If you truely want the BEST FICO scores you can get, you'd pay those credit cards BEFORE the statement date. Part of your FICO score is based on your utilization (amount of credit available vs amount of credit used) - if you charge your cards up each month, then PIF when the statement cuts, unfortunately, your bureau reports are being updated on or after the statement date, using the balance AS OF your statement date, therefore, you may always appear to be max out on your utilization.

Paying them one or two days before the statement date each month could probably boost your FICO considerably!

Just food for thought for a Friday afternoon!

Re: I'm In To Deep!

Anonymous — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 22:20:06 GMT

I'm new to this forum and find the advice helpful. I have a stupid question since I am learning the lingual here but what does PIF stand for?

Re: I'm In To Deep!

Anonymous — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 22:25:10 GMT

PIF = pay/paid in full Believe me when I say that these are words to live by! I think that like 15% of your overall FICO score somes from your overall utilization. The BEST utilization is below 10% (9$ is the target) - so, if your total available credit (across ALL open accounts) is $10,000, then you should have less than $900 showing at any given time. With your specatular spreadsheet, this should be an easy accomplishment for you - simply find the statement date, and make sure that you PIF (or at least pay as much as possible) BEFORE the statement date. Then, when the statement cuts, and your account info is updated w/the credit bureaus, your balances are next to nothing! Going from 50%-10% util could easy net you 40-50 points in your overall score! *********************************************************************** 800FICOwannabe 07/01/09 - FICO scores: EQ - 696, TU - 622 (Asset Acceptance reinserted as a new collection) 06/01/09 - FICO scores: EQ - 637, TU - 641 05/04/09 - FICO scores: EQ - 660, TU - 647 04/21/09 - FICO scores: EQ - 711, TU - 642 09/09/08 - Mortgage Enhanced: EQ - 607, EX - 556, TU - 534

Re: I'm In To Deep!

Anonymous — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 00:58:36 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
PIF = pay/paid in full Believe me when I say that these are words to live by! I think that like 15% of your overall FICO score somes from your overall utilization.

It is actually 30%:

http://www.myfico.com/CreditEducation/WhatsInYourScore.aspx

Re: I'm In To Deep!

Anonymous — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 01:00:58 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
NO JUST KIDDING! lol

Yeah, nice subject line. [NOT!] I would have looked at this thread sooner but I didn't want to be depressed.

Re: I'm In To Deep!

BungalowMo — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 01:22:26 GMT

I do something very similar to UborrowUpay...

I have a notebook (I splurged on a nice one!) and each open page will have notes on the left had side associated with the accts listed on the right. Across the top I have:

*Who/Balance.................*Due Date...............*PD?..............Date PD/Method *

*Notice up there it isn't "min. due", but max

*Just for reference

*How much did I pay?

*At the end, I write what the bal is now, then that goes into the "notes" for the next month.

Most of my cc's & utilities are due between the 25th & 30th. My second check of the mo (pd every other week) is always that group. Then what's left over...hehe...what's that?? JK

Re: I'm In To Deep!

Anonymous — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 01:35:08 GMT

I just keep a list of my accounts on the side and run through them on the computer from time to time. During some periods this review can occur daily. I don't like surprises. This makes them easy to catch. I also have gotten into the habit of paying those accounts that I have a revolving balance on as soon as the statement cuts. I can always pay more later in the month.

Re: I'm In To Deep!

BungalowMo — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 01:40:56 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I just keep a list of my accounts on the side and run through them on the computer from time to time. During some periods this review can occur daily. I don't like surprises. This makes them easy to catch. I also have gotten into the habit of paying those accounts that I have a revolving balance on as soon as the statement cuts. I can always pay more later in the month.

Right! I've done the same. Throw a $20 on it to satisfy the min. , then on payday, put down 3 - 400. I like writing down those balances as they drop. Gives me a more tangible reality on what I've accomplished. Esp. when I pay...and the bal is $0 !!! woop woop!

Re: I'm In To Deep!

Anonymous — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 01:41:07 GMT

My list is on excel.

I have multiple sheets in one workbook.

First sheet shows Outstanding Balances

- On that sheet the column heading are -

Creditor Limits 1-Jun 1-Jul 1-August UTL

The UTL field calculates whatever it is for the latest month.

The next sheets are one for each month and each has the following headings:

Creditor/Co Amount Owed Amount Paid Date Due Bill Date Paid Date Over/Under paid Con. No

This has all my monthly outgoings for bills, cell phone, car payments, rent, credit cards etc on it

At the bottom there is my pay dates (2 a month) and it calculates which payments need to be made in the first half of the month (paycheck one) and which in the second half of the month (paycheck two) I then put in my paycheck amount and it tells me how much I have left. On each months page I then keep a ledger of what I spend on top of my set bills by just inputting the numbers on each day and it will reduce down my balance appropriately showing me what is left of my paycheck the day the next one is paid (so I know how much I can use to make extra payments to credit card companies)

I'm not sure that I explained that very well but... heh technology is my friend.

Re: I'm In To Deep!

BungalowMo — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 01:45:04 GMT

That made total sense! I have just my mtg, one cc (PIF ) and my Vonage due with 1st pay. The rest is on Pay #2 & the $ remaining feeds me and my car & the cats til next month!

Re: I'm In To Deep!

Anonymous — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 01:46:59 GMT

Of course now that you've divulged you know somebody's gonna want it, right?

Re: I'm In To Deep!

Anonymous — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 01:58:00 GMT

Was that addressed to me?

If they do that's fine - i'll just need to blank one out and make sure that it has a sheet made up for each month and then throw it up on a download site for people to grab it. Heh if anyone wants me to then just let me know and i'll do it. I'm at work for the next 9 hours or so and then have 12 hours of work tomorrow night so plenty of time.

Re: I'm In To Deep!

haulingthescoreup — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 02:01:48 GMT

My list is on my Bookmarks tab on my laptop. (Favorites for you IE folk --I'm in Firefox.) They're listed at the top of the Bookmarks list, in order of statement date. Every time (literally every time) I log on, I check the bookmarks tab to see which accounts are coming up next, so that I'm always on top of my PIF'ing.

I have a pretty flaming case of adult ADHD, and visual cues work best for me. Since lates are my only baddies, I'm hyper-sensitive to the slightest possibility of missing a payment.

So this is what I see when I log on and click Bookmarks:

(USAA is at the top, because it's my primary bank.) I completely realize that this is deeply bizarre to those of you who live and die by Excel and so forth, but as I've said in other areas, the best system is what works specifically for you.

Re: I'm In To Deep!

MarineVietVet — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 02:02:22 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
NO JUST KIDDING! lol

I remember there was a time i would apply for credit like crazy i can say I'm honestly happy with the 10 credit cards that i was approved for this past year an i can go the next 3 years without applying for anymore cards.. I think the only hard thing to do is to keep up with the due dates which i don't have a big issue with. I be so paranoid about missing a payment i check all my online accounts like 3 times a week.

You only check them 3 times a week? I go online and check ALL my accounts every day; sometimes several times a day. And I'm not paranoid. (Am I???) You need to pick up the effort!!!! Just joking with you. I think if more folks were diligent about account security and accuracy they would be better off.

7/09
TU-742
EQ-779

Time can heal all wounds and a low FICO.

Re: I'm In To Deep!

BungalowMo — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 02:02:51 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Was that addressed to me?

If they do that's fine - i'll just need to blank one out and make sure that it has a sheet made up for each month and then throw it up on a download site for people to grab it. Heh if anyone wants me to then just let me know and i'll do it. I'm at work for the next 9 hours or so and then have 12 hours of work tomorrow night so plenty of time.

So you're saying you'll be paid to do this!!??