i was wondering how accurate the fico scoring simulator is on this site

[heyyou12]

Hey guys and gals..

                                         My fico score is 659 and the only thing that i can fix is the only credit card i have was at maximum, 421 dollars so i just paid that off in full down to 0, Now the scoring predictor says that my score will go from 659 to between 709 -  749 ....... And i was wondering how accurate is that prediction and what can i expect from paying this ?

Thanks

[Mzvanessa]

Heyyou12 did it say if you pay it off all at once or over a 24 month period, and it will rise that high?

[Anonymous]

When i had 74% utiliaztion on my cc's i used the fico simulator to see what whould happen if i paid them all to zero.

my score was 644 at the time - the simulator said it would be 660-690

so i paid them down to 10% utilization and my score went to 667.

so id say it fiarly accurate in my experiance.

If you can PIF i would do that. it seems to be the quickest and easiest score jump. I have more success paying down cc than anything else ive done in the rebuilding proccess. but then you have to keep the cc's at that utilization (or pif before statement every month)

[MarineVietVet]

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@Mzvanessa wrote:

Heyyou12 did it say if you pay it off all at once or over a 24 month period, and it will rise that high?

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I always advise paying off any debt as fast as possible as long as you have an emergency fund in place. The quick pay off especially applies to credit card balances because carrying a balance forward from month to month costs you money in interest charges.

While I realize that life can get in the way of our plans and goals try as hard as you can to never carry a balance forward.

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".

[Mzvanessa]

Thank you Marinevietvet the reason why I ask  was because the stimulator shows me that if I paid down my credit card balances to 90% - 100% over the next 24 months that my score will go up and  range between 709 - 749,  and it is 589 now.

Which I was think to myself wow that is a long time so this month I paid everything in full and I am waiting to see what impact would it have on my scores.

Now when I put that I will pay my total revolving/open account balance it tells me that my score will  range between  589 -629. Which is a nice jump but not like it will be if I pay over 24 months. But I agree with you 100% 

The quick pay off especially applies to credit card balances because carrying a balance forward from month to month costs you money in interest charges.

[MarineVietVet]

To me (and perhaps I'm just slow) that estimation of a score improvement over a 24 month period has always seemed a bit misleading. Perhaps someone who understands it better can educate me on it.

IMO it can make folks think that they have to pay off debt over a long period for the best results and that confusion can lead to unnecessary costs because instead of paying off a credit card as fast as possible they pay it out over time which means more interest paid out.

I don't use any kind of estimator or simulator because they don't and can't reflect the real world and our unique situations. But that's just me. Many people seem to like them and use them quite a bit.

Again it could just be my slow brain. 

Edited cuz' I kent typ rite!!!

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".

[OnTheRebound]

I use the simulator to entertain me when I'm bored.

[marty56]

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@OnTheRebound wrote:

I use the simulator to entertain me when I'm bored.

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+1

IMHO the simulator work best on clean reports.  No so much if you have an 120 day late.