topic Re: I need help with my score in Credit Cards

I need help with my score

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 00:47:28 GMT

Hi - My husband and I are in debt up to our eyeballs with credit card debt. I am cashing out my 401K to help, but it is not enough so we are going for a second on our home. Somebody told me to close my cc and that would help, but I found from reading here it doesn't. I closed some cards that were paid off as well as 2 cards that were maxed out high CL. So when I start to pay off I am going to pay on those closed accounts - will my credit score change? Any advice. Our FICO scores are around 665 and I want it above 700.

Re: I need help with my score

fused — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 00:55:16 GMT

Hi and welcome! Please, before you do anything give us as much information as possible. List your CCs (both open and closed ones) with the credit limits, balances and APRs. List your mortgage and other installment debts. I must say 665 isn't bad with the scenario you're describing.

Re: I need help with my score

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 00:56:16 GMT

Yes- balances on closed CC's count towards UTL-

I agree in getting Debt paid off/down

Be careful in what you are doing- the tax on pulling the 401K is going to hurt and moving unsecured debt to a secured debt - can be a bad thing-

Re: I need help with my score

haulingthescoreup — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 01:06:12 GMT

I got slaughtered when I cashed in a 401K to buy a car for our youngest daughter, and I thought that I had prepaid all the penalties.

Please post your info as the others suggested, and also read Credit Scoring 101 (linked on both fused's and Timothy's signatures, with different names. You're getting some bad advice, and you need to take a time out and do some quick homework before you go any farther.

Re: I need help with my score

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 01:09:03 GMT

I am a little worried about cashing out my 401K, but we can't get enough out of our home to pay the debt off and my husband still has his 401k. I am a stay at home mom and don't contribute to the 401k anymore - granted it is earning a little money sitting there. This advice helps - thanks. I am going to try that link for the closed accounts - I think I may have made a bad mistake. Those cards were high limit and almost maxed out, but they still had a little bit left that may help.

Re: I need help with my score

annah — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 01:12:32 GMT

Make sure you call them soon. Some ccs have a limit of 30 or 90 days to reopen.

You're not alone. I recently dropped my score by about 80 points by closing 2 ccs w/ balances. Even if they are maxed, at least the extra CL counts towards your total available cl.

Re: I need help with my score

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 01:13:03 GMT

OK - I got some scores from a loan we applied for - mine are 677xpn 677 efx 678tuc and my husbands are 674xpn 658efx 663tuc. So far does this help any. I am going to work on the other calculations.

Re: I need help with my score

haulingthescoreup — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 01:14:30 GMT

You're in very decent shape with those scores, so don't run around and do anything in a hurry until you know what you're dealing with. Go ahead and do your research first, and then please get back with us.

Re: I need help with my score

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 01:26:14 GMT

To figure the percentage? some of my cards have lower limits now than what shows on my credit report - which one do I use the one on the report or the limit I currently have??

Re: I need help with my score

haulingthescoreup — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 01:32:39 GMT

Well, I always play the pessimist in situations like this, so I would go with the lower limits. Once they update, they will determine the next batch of scores, I'm afraid.

BTW, are either of you in a position to pick up a part-time job, on the weekends, maybe? I know that you've got kids at home, and what's most important is having their lives stay stable, but it's amazing how far an extra 8-12 hours of $6.25/ hour will go. Lord knows, my local Mickey D's could definitely use a morning manager on weekends!

Re: I need help with my score

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 02:36:32 GMT

I am getting soooo ready for my rant-

Seems like a perfect thread for the preveiw-

Today I had an employee refuse the $2 per hour raise I was giving her- "she would lose her benefits"

IMO- I make OK $, my DW has not "HAD" to having a paying job in 15 years (her work as a SAHM has been way too valuable to put a $ amount on) She is also the PTSA president. The US economy and the cost of living gets closer everyday to FORCE her back into the waht I call "Two Job mom" -

The whole ecconomy needs to give up on this 2 income household requirement - Groceries and everything else are too expensive-

(to be continued)

Re: I need help with my score

haulingthescoreup — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 02:45:38 GMT

Oh, don't get me started! I am so grateful that my husband's traveling job made it impractical for me to work "outside the home" for a long time. Someone needs to be there, running the show, keeping people glued together, and so forth.

There's a hell of a lot more to being a successful human being than laying claim to a cube. It's very saddening to me that one's value as a human being these days is measured so much by earned income. We even see it here when posters apologize for having to use HHI, as if not dragging in a paycheck makes them less of a real person.

Re: I need help with my score

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 02:51:02 GMT

Sorry HTSU

I might need to move this to my blog-

haulingthescoreup wrote:
Oh, don't get me started! I am so grateful that my husband's traveling job made it impractical for me to work "outside the home" for a long time. Someone needs to be there, running the show, keeping people glued together, and so forth.

There's a hell of a lot more to being a successful human being than laying claim to a cube. It's very saddening to me that one's value as a human being these days is measured so much by earned income. We even see it here when posters apologize for having to use HHI, as if not dragging in a paycheck makes them less of a real person.

Re: I need help with my score

haulingthescoreup — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 03:05:36 GMT

Okey-dokey. grrrr

Re: I need help with my score

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 04:04:09 GMT

Thanks for your honest feedback. My husband has a great job where he gets a lot of overtime sometimes and I am a stay at home mom with a small business - can't say name but lets say - I sale kitchen tools in peoples homes for a large company out of Chicago. Anyway - I have been thinking of getting another job, but then it comes to the day care issue for a 3 year old - you are just working to pay for daycare - not worth it! I'm still looking, but not much in my area that pays enough unless I go back full time.

Re: I need help with my score

haulingthescoreup — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 04:36:50 GMT

To quote Ben Franklin, a penny saved is a penny earned. If you suddenly found yourself in an episode of "24", and irritated-looking men with automatic weapons were at your front door, what could you and your husband and kids give up? The drive-through on the way to work or school? Nickleodeon? The Speed Channel? HBO? 2 degrees on the thermostat? Steaks on the grill? (instead of burgers) Gymnastics?

I'm not trying to be facetious, and I know you've already been cutting corners, but sometimes it's hard to get a sense for how immediate and crucial financial crises are. Is your husband reading this thread? Is everybody on board with your situation? Sometimes people just give up in advance, thinking that it's just too hard, or impossible, to ever make a change.

A household is an economic unit, a business just like any other. If the partners aren't all on board, it's tough to make any significant changes. But when everyone gets plugged in, and starts thinking, yeah, I could do without that for 6 months, it's astonishing the changes that you can make! Good luck --hope you can find a path.

Re: I need help with my score

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 04:39:56 GMT

Post of the day!!!

A household is an economic unit, a business just like any other. If the partners aren't all on board, it's tough to make any significant changes. But when everyone gets plugged in, and starts thinking, yeah, I could do without that for 6 months, it's astonishing the changes that you can make! Good luck --hope you can find a path.

haulingthescoreup wrote:
To quote Ben Franklin, a penny saved is a penny earned. If you suddenly found yourself in an episode of "24", and irritated-looking men with automatic weapons were at your front door, what could you and your husband and kids give up? The drive-through on the way to work or school? Nickleodeon? The Speed Channel? HBO? 2 degrees on the thermostat? Steaks on the grill? (instead of burgers) Gymnastics?

I'm not trying to be facetious, and I know you've already been cutting corners, but sometimes it's hard to get a sense for how immediate and crucial financial crises are. Is your husband reading this thread? Is everybody on board with your situation? Sometimes people just give up in advance, thinking that it's just too hard, or impossible, to ever make a change.

A household is an economic unit, a business just like any other. If the partners aren't all on board, it's tough to make any significant changes. But when everyone gets plugged in, and starts thinking, yeah, I could do without that for 6 months, it's astonishing the changes that you can make! Good luck --hope you can find a path.

Re: I need help with my score

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 06:30:03 GMT

yes - we ( my husband and I) are all on board - I don't think anybody wanted to upset anybody else on this - sorry this got so out of control. I was just looking for advice on how to up my score - should I keep my cards closed or re-open them to allow that positive amount that is available. And just so you know we are actively cutting back on a lot of things that we don't "Have to Have"!

Re: I need help with my score

haulingthescoreup — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 11:42:41 GMT

Sorry if I got carried away! I read a lot of posts where one person "gets it", and the other won't get involved. Good luck!

Re: I need help with my score

maxq — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 12:52:14 GMT

my first suggestion is, slow down.... take a deep breath.... ok, now, i can relate to part of this because i had to do this once in my life and that is messing with my 401k....i am a gov employee and my 401 was my life savings...my credit cards were killing me....i knew that if i took my money out of my 401 that i could pay off some credit and have some room to breathe...but i didn't want the tax implications...so i just took a loan out against my 401...now when your talking 3 or 4 percent on that loan vs. the 15%, 20% or whatever your credit cards are then it's a no brainer....taking the loan gave me the flexibility to repay my 401 and gave me some freedom and room to breathe... your situation is a little different in that you are not working and your 401 is just sitting there...my question is this, is there any way to just take a loan against your 401 and repay it? you would be surprised at the low rate and little payments you could manage on that loan as opposed to the huge fees on credit cards. that would be my suggestion is to do the loan as opposed to just taking it all out and dealing with the tax implications. also, i would stay away from a 2nd mtg. i have no experience in the mtg area but seeing a couple friends of mine do it i don't think you want to do that either. a part time job probably would work to bring in a little more income to pay those other cards down. on the cards i would not close any. instead cut them up! if it's that tempting then cut them up and once your ready to start using a very small uti of 1 or 2 cards then call the cc company and order a new card. that way the temptation won't be there for a few months until you can get things under control. just a few suggestions and not sure if they can help. your situation may not be able to do those things but at least consider them. finally, hang in there! you guys will get through this tough time! stay focused!