@Anonymous wrote:
I have the My fico score alert. That is where i get m score from. It was 671 but it dropped to 666. I read somewhere to keep my balance lower than 30% of the available credit. I pay the card off every month and dont carry a balance. It dropped the 5 points at 22% of my available credit. have had the card for about 7 years.
Thanks
Chad
Hi Chad and welcome.
I doubt if you read that <30% utilization recommendation here. That is really too high and although 22% is better that still would be considerd by most people here to be too high.
Everyone's situation is different and there is no one size fits all approach to this but what seems to work well for most people is to have only one of their cards report a small (<9% of it's credit limit) balance each month and then pay in full before the due date. You can use it as much as you want during the month but what's important is the reported balance because for most cards whatever is reported on the monthly statement is what is used to calculate utilization for the month.
You might have to play around with the percentages for a few months to see what works best for you. Some people say that 1-3% utilization helps the most. For others it might be 5-9%. As I said it's not one size fits all.
On any other cards always try and have them report a zero balance each month. That doesn't mean you can't use them just make sure that the desired zero balance on these accounts is achieved several days before their statements post.
Along with individual and overall utilization, FICO also scores the number of all types of accounts reporting a balance.at any one time Making sure less than half of all your accounts report a balance helps most people.
Now this approach really isn't necessary if you're not looking to apply for any credit in the near future or unless you are trying to tweak your score for maximum effect but some folks do this as a hobby just to see how high they can get their score.
Since you only have the one card just amend these suggestions to make sure that your reported balance is less than 9% each month and I think you will see some movement upward in your score. But keep in mind this acronym which you will see very often on these forums - YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary) That means that everyone's situation is different and constantly changing so any advice given is not etched in stone for all circumstances.
You might consider at some point in the future getting a second or even third CC so you can try the "tweaking" method I mentioned. But don't apply for a card just for the sake of applying. Do your research and get a card or cards that will grow with you and help you for years to come. It's better IMO (In My Opinion) to have only a few great cards than many inferior ones.
From a BK years ago to:
EX - 3/11 pulled by lender- 835, EQ - 2/11-816, TU - 2/11-782
"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they've made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem".
