Want a Boat, Getting Organized, just have a question

[ike12]

So i bought the house July of 2014.. Got some credit card debt when we added here and there to the house, nothing i cant handle, never missed a payment or anything like that. Current score now around 660, did get more cards than i planned but my ratio of usage of total credit limit is rather high, so my plan is before March 1, paying the balances down to I was thinking around 50-60% of total limit? This was to get my report as "good" as I can so I can go get a nice boat (prob around $45k)..  Now i dont know the "dates" that my cards update to bureas etc so I guess thats what I am looking for? some info on that and if 50-60% usage is looked at as ok?

My current CC due dates are all over the place so i do like the idea that i just seen of one single payment date, but for now that will take some time to coordinate im sure. well TY all

-Ike

[pipeguy]

I had boats for 20+ years, gotta say I loved everything about boating other than the constant expense of maintaince, storage, gas and one broken back. Just be aware the cost of a boat is much much more than the cost of purchasing it and also keep in mind that boats lose resell value quickly.

I do miss my boats,just not the costs.

[ike12]

TY for reply, I have a boat currently, have had it since 1998. TY though i appreciate you looking out

[disdreamin]

Perhaps current DTI and desired monthly payment -and where that would put your DTI - would be helpful. Seems to me, though, that you should pay the cards off and only have one reporting a small balance before applying.

[bada_bing]

50%-60% utilization is not "okay". Less than 30% is considered where it doesn't excessively

effect scoring. Less than 10% is considered optimum.

I know it goes beyond your question, but I'd spend some time doing a detailed financial

analyses on the boat purchase and look at the interest costs on the prospective boat loan

as well as the interest charges on the outstanding credit card balances. It could be that you

would be able to get better rates on a boat loan and negotiate a better purchase price with

higher scores. 740-760 FICO is where "prime" rates start and you aren't too far below that.

Optimizing your utilization on your credit cards and getting a bit of time on the mortgage and new

card accounts could possibly get you there.

[ike12]

TY for your reply!

 What # of cards or revolving accounts is "considered" too many? Just curious if I should close some or maybe they dont matter too much as long as the balances are low.? TY