Got a 707... looking to boost with some specific information

[Anonymous]

I just ran my TransUnion score and it hit at a 707.  It was through a competing web site since this one for some reason wouldn't let me run it (I suspect a billing address issue, I just moved).

At any rate, when I bought my truck two years ago my score was up around 730.  Since then, I've run up my credit card to close to its max, picked up a signature loan to pay for a lawyer, put an engagement ring on a new credit card and acquired a student loan.

I have always paid all of my bills on time, and I recently sold my house and paid off my credit card.  I now have some cash that I'm putting into my Thrift Savings Plan, setting up a 529 for my son and repaying my depleted savings account.

My question is, what should be my priorities for paying off my debts?  This is what I figured but correct me if I'm wrong:

1) Credit card (paid off)

2) Ring (about 50% of account limit, high interest deferred until next year)

3) Signature loan (medium interest, 3 year term)

4) Student loans (although they are relatively low interest)

5) Truck (although it is really low interest, and I figure that paying it off every month can build credit vice paying it off now)

Let me know what I should be paying off asap and what I should be paying off monthly for best credit.

Thanks in advance!

Andrew

[Anonymous]

As to your score...I only pull mine through myfico. These are correct scores. Most other sites give FAKO scores.  Someone that knows will let you know if the site gave FICO or FAKO. Im not sure.

CC UTIL  will carry more weight as far as score goes.

Mortg. auto. and others carry less weight BUT  they give you good TL and length of history.

RING   how is it showing on CR  as CC revolving??

If you only have 1 CC  you might want to get more. You do not need to carry a big balance. Buy a candy bar & pay it off after it shows on account. do it for the first & second mo. This way the CC will report good payment. Then put it in sock drawer for awhile.

Let the PROs  help you   thats all I can think of.

Message Edited by HappyDays on 08-04-2007 08:36 PM

[Tuscani]

Welcome.. Please read the Scoring 101 thread:

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/fico/board/message?board.id=ficoscoring&thread.id=2654

[Anonymous]

Wow, for some reason this is the first time I've been able to issue a reply.  This site keeps timing out on me and sending me to 404 pages.  The pull was from annualcreditreport.com's transunion part of the site.  The ring is a revolving account.  I also have a home depot card that is a revolving account and a Target card that is a revolving account.  I'm wondering what the point would be of getting another card.

I read the credit scores 101 thread start to finish.  It has a lot of good information but doesn't tell me what my priorities should be in the specific situation I listed above.  I know that I should get my % of use down between 1-9% but I'd like to know what my priorities should be, given that I need to put a bunch of money in savings (need being subjective, based on the principle of paying one's self first).

Andrew

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

The pull was from annualcreditreport.com's transunion part of the site. The ring is a revolving account. I also have a home depot card that is a revolving account and a Target card that is a revolving account. I'm wondering what the point would be of getting another card. I read the credit scores 101 thread start to finish. It has a lot of good information but doesn't tell me what my priorities should be in the specific situation I listed above. I know that I should get my % of use down between 1-9% but I'd like to know what my priorities should be, given that I need to put a bunch of money in savings (need being subjective, based on the principle of paying one's self first).

Andrew

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When you pull a free credit report from TransUnion, the score that you can purchase is not a FICO score - it is a FAKO (I believe TU uses their proprietary TransRisk score).

If you do not intend to apply for a mortgage or an auto loan soon (it doesn't appear that you do), the sensible thing is to pay off the highest interest rate debts first, and probably save the truck loan for last. Saving interest is more important than trying to maintain a marginally higher FICO score during a period when nobody is looking at it.

When you're ready to consider paying off the truck, check to see exactly how much interest you would save by paying it off early. If the amount is trivial and you have better uses for your money, continue paying it normally through the full term. If you prefer to pay it off early, doing so should have a negligible effect on your FICO score.

[Anonymous]

"If you do not intend to apply for a mortgage or an auto loan soon (it doesn't appear that you do), the sensible thing is to pay off the highest interest rate debts first, and probably save the truck loan for last. Saving interest is more important than trying to maintain a marginally higher FICO score during a period when nobody is looking at it."

Good points.  Exactly what I was looking for. 

It looks like I will pay down my ring account and signature loan but not pay them completely off.  My truck loan is going to be a long-term account (the only real one I'll have except for my credit card I've had since 2001) so I'll have that for a while.  Hopefully when I am in the market to purchase a house again in a year or so I'll be up in the mid 700s again.  And of course we can always hope that interest rates go down, those of us that are smart enough to lock in fixed rate mortgages...

Andrew