Trying to be Good! (But it seems Unwise...)

[Anonymous]

So, I'm one year out of college, landed a decent job and am making a concerted effort to pay off the huge credit debt I accumulated while in school.  Should be paid off by Feb. '08; I'm very excited to be free of this burden.  Now I'm hearing I should not pay off my card, or at the very least, I should continue to use it since that's the only way I can prove my ability to handle debt responsibly.  I will have student loan payments beginning in January '08, and besides, doesn't payement history remain on your credit report for 7 years?  I have credit history dating back to '93!  I don't WANT to have a balance anymore!  I'm finally mastering this beast and it's going to cause my scores to drop??  I don't get it. 

[Anonymous]

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new-at-this wrote:

So, I'm one year out of college, landed a decent job and am making a concerted effort to pay off the huge credit debt I accumulated while in school.  Should be paid off by Feb. '08; I'm very excited to be free of this burden.  Now I'm hearing I should not pay off my card, or at the very least, I should continue to use it since that's the only way I can prove my ability to handle debt responsibly.  I will have student loan payments beginning in January '08, and besides, doesn't payement history remain on your credit report for 7 years?  I have credit history dating back to '93!  I don't WANT to have a balance anymore!  I'm finally mastering this beast and it's going to cause my scores to drop??  I don't get it. 

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Hi new-at-this

We were alll new-at-this at some point or another so I'll juwt throw my two cents in.  As far as paying off your cards go for it.  The cardinal rule it not to CLOSE them.  Who wants to pay interest when they don't have to

Great job in getting your finances under control.  Just rememebr to keep your cards updating and depending on how many you have, if you don't want debt, rotate usage between them, using a card once a monthafter you get them paid off.  It will keep them reporting and keep your scores growing

[Anonymous]

Yes, continue paying off your credit card, if you can pay it off before Feb '08 then that will be even better. But don't pay it off, leave a $0 balance and tuck it away. Use it but pay off the balance every month.

[Anonymous]

Welcome to the forums!

Just charge a stick of gum to your cards or a cup of coffee once a month a week before your statement is issued and leave a very tiny balance. Maybe even 5 dollars. Then, it will show that you are timely with payments and FICO will see super low utilization and reward you with larger point increases. They want you to use your credit responsibly and keep utilization at 35% or less. 1%-9% is the best and will give your the most points.

Congratulations!!! You are accomplishing so much. I wish I was aware of the "system" and what a FICO score was when I graduated college in 1996.

Keep up the good work.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for your help!  This balancing act of utilization is not something I anticipated.  Actually, I had to use a credit management company to mediate for me; the limit on this card is over 16K.  I got a couple hundred bucks OVER my limit.  I couldn't afford the minimums anymore as a student.  Anyway, Chase closed my account in good standing and I'm currently making huge extra payments through the mediating company.  I've been told different things regarding how this will affect my score, but I can't worry about it.  It was my only choice at the time.  I'll just continue to do the best that I can.

Thanks, again!

[Anonymous]

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new-at-this wrote:

Thanks for your help!  This balancing act of utilization is not something I anticipated.  Actually, I had to use a credit management company to mediate for me; the limit on this card is over 16K.  I got a couple hundred bucks OVER my limit.  I couldn't afford the minimums anymore as a student.  Anyway, Chase closed my account in good standing and I'm currently making huge extra payments through the mediating company.  I've been told different things regarding how this will affect my score, but I can't worry about it.  It was my only choice at the time.  I'll just continue to do the best that I can.

Thanks, again!

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I think that that is a great attitude. You did what you had to do and the past is the past, so no use worrying about it now. And now you'll get tons of great advice from the forums!

[MidnightVoice]

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tessarue wrote:

And now you'll get tons of great advice from the forums!

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And some of it might even be accurate and useful 

[Anonymous]

Oh, absolutely!  I just got here and I've already learned so much.  Plus, it's nice to know I'm not alone!