topic Re: Hi Everyone! in Understanding FICO® Scoring

Hi Everyone!

Anonymous — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 02:56:27 GMT

well long time listener first time caller! my name is Alexandria, i am 21, and now i am addicted to knowing my credit situation. after getting a very high interest rate on my first financed vehicle, i decided to subscribe to myFICO to "TRY" to understand how the scores come to be. so after a few months of learning and trying here is my status... Right now i only have my EQ score, which is 507...................................................................................................................................................... Accounts.............Credit.Limit................507.Score.Balance...............New.Balance............................................................. VictoriaSecret:........$800...........................$555.........................$425.................................................................. Macy's:................$200...........................$196.........................$90................................................................... BestBuy:...............$500...........................$308.........................$222.................................................................. Visa:..................$900...........................$663.........................$406.................................................................. Tribute:...............$750...........................$335.........................$250.................................................................. Sam's:.................$300...........................$254.........................$163.................................................................. Dell:..................$1500..........................$1429........................$1234................................................................. .___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Total:.................$4950..........................$3740........................$2790.................................................................... .............................................................................................................................................................. The 507 Score Utilization is 75 percent. The new balances bring it down to 56 percent. all of these accounts have always been paid on time but the oldest account is only 2 years and 2 months I also have a car loan that i have been late on 2 times since last august (30 days late).

Message Edited by Alexandria on 07-09-2008 07:56 PM

Re: Hi Everyone!

Anonymous — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 02:38:16 GMT

these forums aren't very user friendly are they?

Re: Hi Everyone!

haulingthescoreup — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 02:50:09 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
these forums aren't very user friendly are they?

Hi, Alexandria, welcome to the forums! I tried to reply to your initial post, but you were already reworking it.

I can't figure how to do tabs to save my neck, if that's what you're referring to. And every now and then I see them, so I know it can be done. I think my problem is because I'm in Firefox instead of IE.

edit to add: just saw your latest edit; that works! (although it makes for a wide screen, lol)

Anyway, I saw enough on the original post to see what you were showing. It looks like you have a good handle on your util, and I can't wait to see the score jump.

So right now, the only problems are high util, short history, and two lates? How late were the lates?

The good news is that the formula seems forgiving of lates on those with short history. My youngest and oldest (20 and 25) each have a late, and their scores don't seem that hurt by them any more. You're getting on top of the util, and the age will take care of itself.

As you pay down your balances, try to get one or two more each month reporting $0. That will also help your scores. I think I counted 8 accounts, plus the car loan? If you can eventually have 5 cc's reporting $0, and the other 3 will amounts under 10% on each, that should help you out. Don't worry about paying down the car loan quickly; Installment util is calculated separately and doesn't have as much impact. Just avoid any more lates.

I think you're going to be happily surprised by your scores once you get that util down! Good luck.

Message Edited by haulingthescoreup on 07-09-2008 07:50 PM

Re: Hi Everyone!

marty56 — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 02:52:32 GMT

Welcome to the forum. If you get your total util down to 9%, you will see a very nice score boost. Also reduce the # of cards carying a balance to 1 or 2.

Re: Hi Everyone!

Anonymous — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 02:54:39 GMT

hi guys! thanks for the warm welcome! whoops sorry the two lates were 30 days

Re: Hi Everyone!

Anonymous — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 03:10:44 GMT

Welcome to the forums

You have 3 things hurting you:

1) High utility (even at 56 percent)

2) Credit Age

3) 2 30 days lates

At 21 you likely have limited income, but just treat all revolving credit accounts like debit cards and you will do great - don't spend it unless you have it in your bank account and you are ready to part with it.

Your 30 day lates are impacting your score negatively but I can offer you hope, 2 years later a 30 day late barely impacts you. Keep paying all your accounts on time and this ding will go away in the relative blink of an eye. If you pay on time and have can explain how you have learned to better manage your credit, you may be able to write your creditor a goodwill letter and get the lates removed. Search on this site for more info on goodwill (GW) letters.

Your overall age is low, but the good news is that it won't hurt your score too much for much longer. In another 2 years your score potential should be approaching the scores needed for the best loan rates - meaning you will have very good credit.

To reiterate - keep your utility low (pay it down as quick as you can) and have it report on only 1 or 2 revolving accounts. Pay on time all the time! See if you can get your lates goodwilled. And enjoy your credit responsibly - age cures all.

Re: Hi Everyone!

Anonymous — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 03:16:46 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Welcome to the forums
You have 3 things hurting you:
1) High utility (even at 56 percent)
2) Credit Age
3) 2 30 days lates
At 21 you likely have limited income, but just treat all revolving credit accounts like debit cards and you will do great - don't spend it unless you have it in your bank account and you are ready to part with it.
Your 30 day lates are impacting your score negatively but I can offer you hope, 2 years later a 30 day late barely impacts you. Keep paying all your accounts on time and this ding will go away in the relative blink of an eye. If you pay on time and have can explain how you have learned to better manage your credit, you may be able to write your creditor a goodwill letter and get the lates removed. Search on this site for more info on goodwill (GW) letters.
Your overall age is low, but the good news is that it won't hurt your score too much for much longer. In another 2 years your score potential should be approaching the scores needed for the best loan rates - meaning you will have very good credit.
To reiterate - keep your utility low (pay it down as quick as you can) and have it report on only 1 or 2 revolving accounts. Pay on time all the time! See if you can get your lates goodwilled. And enjoy your credit responsibly - age cures all.

thanks for the info! and believe me when i say i hardly put any money on the cards anymore. i also am now able to set aside $100 per account each month that goes to the principle.

and also thanks for posting up your response formatted in code so i could see how you spaced it out
cool!

Message Edited by Alexandria on 07-09-2008 08:16 PM

Re: Hi Everyone!

Anonymous — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 19:25:59 GMT

whoohoo! Dell just gave me a CLI of $500 which now puts my utilization under 50 percent! can't wait for my score to reflect these new numbers!

Re: Hi Everyone!

Anonymous — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 22:23:29 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
whoohoo! Dell just gave me a CLI of $500 which now puts my utilization under 50 percent! can't wait for my score to reflect these new numbers!

Good going. Also keep in mind that while reducing your overall utilization will bode well for your score. You will also be dinged for your utilization on the individual cards themselves. So try your best to lower the balances on your cards as well.

The System Works!

Anonymous — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 16:35:43 GMT

just received an alert saying my Fico has increased by 31 pts!

its funny i almost enjoy paying bills now

Message Edited by Alexandria on 07-21-2008 09:35 AM

Re: The System Works!

Anonymous — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 17:04:18 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
just received an alert saying my Fico has increased by 31 pts!

its funny i almost enjoy paying bills now

Message Edited by Alexandria on 07-21-2008 09:35 AM

That's the funny thing about myFICO. I definitely agree that paying big chunks of money to my credit cards almost feels refreshing in some way ... like I'm taking a huge rock off my shoulders.

Re: The System Works!

Anonymous — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 20:09:52 GMT

You are probably eligible for free annual credit reports so you can go to Experian and Trans Union and get them online. Then you will have your three scores to looke at. They can differ. For me Equifax is my lowest by as much as 30 pts.

Good luck.