Credit score

[Anonymous]

Hi, My husband and I are trying hard to raise our credit scores.  I have two new credit cards.  I got them both during the month of May of 2009.  Along with paying our two cars loans and student loans we having been paying on the credit cards as well.  I purchase amounts less than 50% of each card and pay it off on or before the due date.  This month i did that and my score didn't change for this month (Sept.).  I was looking forward to it changing.  I thought this was the right way to do it. Now my score has changed since May, but is it suppose to change each month especially when paying on a credit card?  Is there a better way of handling it.  Please help!!

[MarineVietVet]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Hi, My husband and I are trying hard to raise our credit scores.  I have two new credit cards.  I got them both during the month of May of 2009.  Along with paying our two cars loans and student loans we having been paying on the credit cards as well.  I purchase amounts less than 50% of each card and pay it off on or before the due date.  This month i did that and my score didn't change for this month (Sept.).  I was looking forward to it changing.  I thought this was the right way to do it. Now my score has changed since May, but is it suppose to change each month especially when paying on a credit card?  Is there a better way of handling it.  Please help!!

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Welcome to the forums.

Since you have only two cards you should only let one of the balances report each month. Your utilization on the reporting account needs to be less than 9% (that figure seems to be the most popular around here) and then pay it in full before the due date to avoid any interest charges.

If there is a balance on the other card you need to pay it in full each month before the statement posts so that it shows a zero balance.

If both cards show a zero balance each month it actually hurts you because FICO like to see some activity but not too much.

Completely confused???   There are many people here MUCH more knowledgable than me who will be along I'm sure to clean up my probably poor explanation.  Good luck to you.

(myfico)
7/09 TU-742 EQ- 779
8/09 TU-765 EQ- 783
9/09 EX pulled by lender 802

CC interest free as of 8/09
Time can heal all wounds and a low FICO.
"Hello my name is Sandy and I'm a recovering crediholic".

[Jazzzy]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Hi, My husband and I are trying hard to raise our credit scores.  I have two new credit cards.  I got them both during the month of May of 2009.  Along with paying our two cars loans and student loans we having been paying on the credit cards as well.  I purchase amounts less than 50% of each card and pay it off on or before the due date.  This month i did that and my score didn't change for this month (Sept.).  I was looking forward to it changing.  I thought this was the right way to do it. Now my score has changed since May, but is it suppose to change each month especially when paying on a credit card?  Is there a better way of handling it.  Please help!!

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The poster above me mentioned this as well, but paying before the due date is not the same as paying before the statement cuts. My husband and I always paid everything in full after we got the statement. To our surprise, we really didn't get much benefit from that because our statement balances were getting reported to the credit bureaus...not the fact that we were paying in full.

Try paying before the statement cuts, but let one card show a very small balance each month. Then pay that small balance off when you get the statement (before the due date). Most credit card companies report your balance from your statement. There are a few companies that report at the end of the month instead. If you read in the credit card forum, you will be able to learn when your cards report.

It's not fun trying to juggle your payments so as to not show a balance (except a small one) and not pay any interest, but it does pay off. My husband and I have seen a big difference. As to whether or not your FICO scores will rise each month, that is not always the case. The percent of utilization makes a difference, so keep paying off those cards, and you will see a difference. It's more like a stair-step increase than a nice smooth line up...but it comes.