How should I allocate my funds and improve my credit?

[Anonymous]

We will have the mortgage company run numbers for both, but she likely wont help.  her income is low (42K), her credit score is low (580) although she has no debt.

[SouthJamaica]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

The individual utilizations on each card does have an impact. So that Amazon would be the first to wipe out. Then move on to the next highest utilization. Someone else will have to quote all the utilization brackets, but you are definitely taking some point hits there. All cards reporting zero except one (AZEO) is where you'd ultimately want to be.

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Having those brackets would be super helpful if you can point me in the right direction.  

I think i can pay these down over time, but know how to best allocate it since it seems like it would matter helps.

I'm currently paying $130% of the minimum payment on all cards, with the exception of the quicksilver which is one i was trying to get to 0 since it had the highest interest rate

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The most important bracket for individual card utilization is 28.9%

The most important bracket for aggregate card utilization is 8.9%

[Anonymous]

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@SouthJamaica wrote:

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The most important bracket for individual card utilization is 28.9%

The most important bracket for aggregate card utilization is 8.9%

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Thank you... Would it make sense to transfer the balances of several cards, all on to one or two cards?  keeping the total balance the same but bringing 5 or 6 cards down to either 0% or under 28.9%?

[Anonymous]

I don't think you would see too much difference moving balances around. Having a few show low/zero may be cancelled out by higher utilization on the others.

If it were me I'd put the $1000/mo savings on hold and put it towards paying down the balances along with what you're already paying. Once they're paid down put the $1000/mo plus all the extra no longer going to CCs towards building a down payment. It might extend your timeline a bit, but you'll go into the home purchase without the CC debt, a nice score bump, and lower DTI.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I don't think you would see too much difference moving balances around. Having a few show low/zero may be cancelled out by higher utilization on the others.

If it were me I'd put the $1000/mo savings on hold and put it towards paying down the balances along with what you're already paying. Once they're paid down put the $1000/mo plus all the extra no longer going to CCs towards building a down payment. It might extend your timeline a bit, but you'll go into the home purchase without the CC debt, a nice score bump, and lower DTI.

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For my specific scenario i could move everything but my paypal balance to the care credit card and then have 

5 accounts 0% 

1 account 58%

1 account 99%

paypal currently is at 58% and would remain there and while care credit would go to 98-00% Amazin is currently at 98-99%. 

This is current:

Walmart	$792.00	$1,450.00	55%
Paypal	$2,036.00	$3,500.00	58%
Amazon	$5,719.00	$6,000.00	95%
Venture	$2,979.00	$7,000.00	43%
Amex	$4,575.00	$8,500.00	54%
QuickSilver	$787.00	$9,000.00	0%
CareCredit	$0.00	$15,000.00	0%
Total	$16,888.00	$50,450.00	33%

This would be after:

Walmart	$0	$1,450.00	0%
Paypal	$2,036.00	$3,500.00	58%
Amazon	$0	$6,000.00	0%
Venture	$0	$7,000.00	0%
Amex	$0	$8,500.00	0%
QuickSilver	$0	$9,000.00	0%
CareCredit	$14,852.00	$15,000.00	99%
Total	$16,888.00	$50,450.00	33%

[Anonymous]

So after reading some threads here, some PMs and talking to people I have some mixed advice as of what route to take:

One goal/strategy seems to be AZEO, and getting balances to 0 starting with the lowest balance first.  Another seems to be to get all cards under 28.9% starting with lowest balance above 29% first.  The former seems to be geared towards mortgage, the ladder credit score.

My middle fico score was 741 and my mortgage lender qualified me and my wife for the lowest FHA rate.  We are looking to buy a home in the next 6-12 months.

My interest rate on the cards are all basically the same.  Here is the current breakdown"

Credit to Debt Ratio
Account	Balance	Limit	Ratio
Walmart	$125.00	$1,450.00	8.6%
Paypal	$2,003.00	$3,500.00	57.2%
Amazon	$5,972.00	$6,000.00	99.5%
Venture	$2,165.00	$7,000.00	30.9%
Amex	$5,194.00	$8,500.00	61.1%
QuickSilver	$798.00	$9,000.00	8.9%
CareCredit	$0.00	$15,000.00	0.0%
Total	$16,257.00	$50,450.00	32.2%

Working on CLI's but CapOne is still pulling a score from februaru of 646.  So probably better luck once that updated to a current score.  Every carde but CareCredit, Amazon, and Paypal allow balance transfers in at 2-3%.

Questions:

-should i aim for under 28.9% or getting to 0?

-Should i look into balance transfers to help manipulate getting balances under 28.9/0?  specifically transferring my venture balance to my amex.  This would put my venture at 0 and have my amex at just below 88.9%  I could then allocate the 200 a month i was putting toward the venture toward my Amex, throwing a minimum of $500 a month at that amex.

-I currently have $1550 a month going to pay these down.  I'll usually do at least 130% of the minimum balance and then throw the rest strategically.  I also spend about $150-300 per month on cards during this pandemic making sure we always have 2-4 weeks of stuff for our 11 month old.

all help appreciated!

[seattletravels]

Do you know how much interest you are paying with each card per month? Personally, I'd pay the minimum on every card and take all my surplus and pay down the highest APR/highest UTI. So in your case,  I'd do the Amazon, then move on to Amex, etc.

[Anonymous]

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@seattletravels wrote:

Do you know how much interest you are paying with each card per month? Personally, I'd pay the minimum on every card and take all my surplus and pay down the highest APR/highest UTI. So in your case,  I'd do the Amazon, then move on to Amex, etc.

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Curious to the logic on this.  is the reasoning on it to pay down total debt faster with minimal interest?

if so, im not sure that achieves the immediate goals of improving mortgage scores/general credit scorers.  i can post the itnerest rates shortly

[Anonymous]

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@seattletravels wrote:

Do you know how much interest you are paying with each card per month? Personally, I'd pay the minimum on every card and take all my surplus and pay down the highest APR/highest UTI. So in your case,  I'd do the Amazon, then move on to Amex, etc.

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here are the interest rates:

Credit to Debt Ratio
Account	Balance	Limit	Ratio	APR
Walmart	$125.00	$1,450.00	8.6%	22.90%
Paypal	$2,003.00	$3,500.00	57.2%	25.49%
Amazon	$5,972.00	$6,000.00	99.5%	25.49%
Venture	$2,165.00	$7,000.00	30.9%	22.99%
Amex	$5,194.00	$8,500.00	61.1%	17.99%
QuickSilver	$798.00	$9,000.00	8.9%	22.99%
CareCredit	$0.00	$15,000.00	0.0%	21.49%
Total	$16,257.00	$50,450.00	32.2%