Hi all! I am on the rebuilding road and have a question on CC utilization. I have some extra cash to put towards my CCs this month and want to approach it correctly. My info is:
Cap1: $1424 of 1600 SL (89% utl)
Disc: $1115 of 1200 SL (93% utl)
Amex: $857 of 1000 SL (86% utl)
Total over: $3396 of 3800 SL (89% utl)
I have about $500 to put towards this. How do I do that to get the most bang for my buck?
@Anonymous wrote:You'll get a score jump if you have all of them under 88.9%.
8.9%, 28.9%, 48.9%, 68.9% & 88.9% are the markers. If you can throw $322 to your Cap1, $289 to your Disco, & $168 to Amex you will have them all down to 68.9%. That's $779.00. If you only have $500 to play with I would get Amex & Disco down first, then Cap1. Make a budget to see how much you can throw at each card every paycheck to start knocking down the debt. Everytime you get past one of the markers you should see a boost....GL!
+1 Great advise. Also. Main thing. Dont use them at all until you can get them under control and hope they dont balance chase you.
Thanks to you both! I paid $175 to the amex, which should bring it down to 68.2%. I put $290 towards the Disco, which should bring it down to 68.75%. I'm working on the Cap1 now. None of these cards are used right now, I've just been making the minimum monthly for three months. But interest is getting me, so I pay $35 and get charged $25 in interest the next week. Its basically like I'm paying $10 a month in that cycle. I'd rather pull those balances down faster than that, obviously, and as strategically as possible. I'm super hopeful they won't balance chase me. 
Just updating. I saw a small score jump of 10 pts today when the Amex reported to TU. Paid an additional $300 down on the amex today, and another $300 on the discover. Scheduling $400 on the cap1 too. By tomorrow, I should be at:
Disc - 617/1200 (51.4%)
Cap1 - 1055/1600 (65.9%)
Amex - 445/1000 (44.5%)
Total Overall - 2117/3800 (55.7%)
Nothing new spent on any of these cards, interest only adding which usually hits around the 15th. I've got auto payments on each card ($35-45 each) around the 13th as well.
Editing to add, I just checked my mortgage scores on the experian app. I can only see mortgage score changes on myfico once a month. After the first round of payments I made to these cards, my Mortgage score jumped 46 points! Still lower than I need it to be but I know that score is heavily swayed by utilization. I'm happy to see such a big jump in two weeks by making larger payments to pull down my utilization.
Congrats. Once you get it down below 8.99% you'll see the most increase in your scores. Plus you may want to update your scores. Last update was 11 months ago. We all would like to see the progress. It may help others. Keep up the great work!
Oh shoot, thanks! I didn't even notice my signature needs updating. Thanks for the heads up!
Another update! My MF score for EX hasn't updated since 1/5, but my EX app updated today. My score jumped an additional 44 pts!
Timeline for Experian:
10/29 - 571
11/13 - 586
12/31 - 588
1/2 - 590
1/3 - 596
1/7 - 640
1/13 - 641
Timeline for Equifax:
10/29 - 564
11/13 - 579
12/31 - 583
1/2 - 591
1/5 - 592
1/9 - 619
1/9 - 619
Timeline for Transunion:
10/29 - 586
11/13 - 596
12/31 - 593
1/1 - 600
1/4 - 606
1/7 - 650
1/13 - 650
PROGRESS!!!!!!!! My next subscription update for MF is on 1/13.
Editing to add, my Mortgage score improvement timeline:
EX
10/29 - 498
12/13 - 489
12/21- 489
1/3 - 546
1/7 - 631
1/10 - 641
1/13 - 641
TU
10/29 - 566
12/13 - 558
1/13 - 650
EQ
10/29 - 557
12/13 - 550
1/13 - 627
Timeline for Experian:
10/29 - 571
11/13 - 586
12/31 - 588
1/2 - 590
1/3 - 596
1/7 - 640
1/13 - 641
Timeline for Equifax:
10/29 - 564
11/13 - 579
12/31 - 583
1/2 - 591
1/5 - 592
1/9 - 619
1/9 - 619
Timeline for Transunion:
10/29 - 586
11/13 - 596
12/31 - 593
1/1 - 600
1/4 - 606
1/7 - 650
1/13 - 650
PROGRESS!!!!!!!! My next subscription update for MF is on 1/13.
Editing to add, my Mortgage score improvement timeline:
EX
10/29 - 498
12/13 - 489
12/21- 489
1/3 - 546
1/7 - 631
1/10 - 641
1/13 - 641
TU
10/29 - 566
12/13 - 558
1/13 - 650
EQ
10/29 - 557
12/13 - 550
1/13 - 627
Excellent. Now you have more incentive to get the accounts below 8.99% and shoot for AZEO and watch what happens to your score then. You wont go back to your old balances again unless there's an emergency. Keep up the good work!
Scores refreshed today and I’m so happy with the progress so far. I updated my timeline post in this thread so it was easier to see in context. I feel like my scores will improve more after 2/2 as well. Two of my CCs report on the first of the month and one on the 23rd. Right now, the system is showing me at 69% overall utilization but I know it’s actually at 55.7% as of today. That’s before another wave of payments I’ve planned for the 18th.