Credit scores

[golfnwine]

I subscribe to the Dave Ramsey plan.
Here is a link to see why:
http://www.daveramsey.com/new/baby-steps/

[Masterchief210]

I wonder if I should label the hobby as a debt or asset??? Lol

[Altbier]

Originally Posted by golfnwine

I subscribe to the Dave Ramsey plan.
Here is a link to see why:
http://www.daveramsey.com/new/baby-steps/

His savings and money management advice seem fairly sound. Just don't follow his investment advice!

[Guest101314]

All good advice guys. 10 years-I was rounding up. But a lot of things fell off of my report. Medical bills. utilities, i had one credit card for about $1000. Now there is only a few things and my student loans, which I could technically start paying those off too. The reason why I want good credit is because 1) I want to buy a house. And 2) it's a lot easier to get approved for other loans such as business loans if I personally have credit. I don't have a credit card now, but I will need to get one soon. I am making large car payments so that should help too.

[b0nd]

Originally Posted by Tracy Auburn

I am making large car payments so that should help too.

One of the things I hate about credit is the amount of payment you make doesn't really matter. The fact that you are making a regular payment and not falling behind is what is the only fact considered for the credit score.

[MsPrittiKitti]

I once heard that medical bills eventually fall off your credit report.
is there any truth to that?
If so, how long does it take before things start to "disappear"?
It sounds as if youve experienced such tracy. I hope at least!!

[handyGiraffe]

The best thing to do is pay everything on time.....and if you have a late payment immediately work to assure it doesn't get reported....only use credit cards for emergency...get yourself signed up for credit karma....(free)...and review your report every month...and contest/dispute every negative thing on your report in writing to any credit reporting agency that is reporting something negative....force them to prove what they have reported..especially collection agencies and other bottom feeders....

[savak]

If I want to get a credit score/credit report, I just go to a bank branch and ask to apply for a credit card. They would run my credit score/credit report there and give it to me on the spot in most cases.

Originally Posted by Tracy Auburn

The reason why I want good credit is because 1) I want to buy a house. And 2) it's a lot easier to get approved for other loans such as business loans if I personally have credit. I don't have a credit card now, but I will need to get one soon. I am making large car payments so that should help too.

You don't just want good credit for those reasons. Good credit also affect your employment.

Alot of companies will take your credit history and finances into consideration when employing you or keeping you as an employee. At my finance job, I tried to help my friend get hired. She has a longer work history and better resume than I do, and she's 5 years younger than me! But her credit is shot to shit and she didn't get in, and neither did some of my cousins who I also tried to get hired along with me as well.

Even though I have some pain in the ass medical bills that at the time and even now are unresolved, I still got in because i have other sources of debt that are up to date and being paid off slowly (student loans, credit cards, etc.)

Another example of how important credit history was this dude who got hired at my job with me, we started off together. At my job, we have bank accounts with the company. After our first paychecks as employees there, my friend used up his entire paycheck and bought his wife a badass expensive diamond ring, this put his bank account into overdraft big time because he had very little available cash to spend in his checking account. My employer fired him. Fired him...FIIIII-UURRRD. Me and my other friends were like WTF??? Why? Especially this dude, he was a badass cool guy and had three kids, and was like in his late 20's, he needed this job more than any of us did. But the company noticed how poorly he maintained his finances and fired him on that reason, because he managed his personal finances poorly, they considered it too much of a risk to deal with other people's finances.

Credit is important not just as a consumer, but also as potential job candidate. The tough part is that its hard to even start to build up a credit history if your new to the whole thing. But once you get started, its important to maintain it because theres alot of shit in this world that paying cash for simply won't do.

Originally Posted by b0ndage2

One of the things I hate about credit is the amount of payment you make doesn't really matter. The fact that you are making a regular payment and not falling behind is what is the only fact considered for the credit score.

You're absolutely right. What you want to do is keep your debt up to date. If you buy a car, you wanna make sure you pay the monthly minimum payment because the credit history gods look at it like "this dude has debt, but he's also honoring it by paying it off".

Like if you get a credit card from Best Buy, you buy a TV for $1200.00. If you pay off the tv right away, then you have very little history of using that credit cause you paid it off right away. But if you steadily pay it off over like a year, thats a year's worth of credit history of you honoring debt and showing you have a stable credit history.

They do say 7 years for medical bills to be erased, but in those 7 years, those medical bills will remain as a stain on your credit report and will impact your ability to apply for a car loan, house loan, and as I explained earlier, your potential employment.

[a10bomb]

Originally Posted by savak

If I want to get a credit score/credit report, I just go to a bank branch and ask to apply for a credit card. They would run my credit score/credit report there and give it to me on the spot in most cases.



You don't just want good credit for those reasons. Good credit also affect your employment.

Alot of companies will take your credit history and finances into consideration when employing you or keeping you as an employee. At my finance job, I tried to help my friend get hired. She has a longer work history and better resume than I do, and she's 5 years younger than me! But her credit is shot to shit and she didn't get in, and neither did some of my cousins who I also tried to get hired along with me as well.

Even though I have some pain in the ass medical bills that at the time and even now are unresolved, I still got in because i have other sources of debt that are up to date and being paid off slowly (student loans, credit cards, etc.)

Another example of how important credit history was this dude who got hired at my job with me, we started off together. At my job, we have bank accounts with the company. After our first paychecks as employees there, my friend used up his entire paycheck and bought his wife a badass expensive diamond ring, this put his bank account into overdraft big time because he had very little available cash to spend in his checking account. My employer fired him. Fired him...FIIIII-UURRRD. Me and my other friends were like WTF??? Why? Especially this dude, he was a badass cool guy and had three kids, and was like in his late 20's, he needed this job more than any of us did. But the company noticed how poorly he maintained his finances and fired him on that reason, because he managed his personal finances poorly, they considered it too much of a risk to deal with other people's finances.

Credit is important not just as a consumer, but also as potential job candidate. The tough part is that its hard to even start to build up a credit history if your new to the whole thing. But once you get started, its important to maintain it because theres alot of shit in this world that paying cash for simply won't do.



You're absolutely right. What you want to do is keep your debt up to date. If you buy a car, you wanna make sure you pay the monthly minimum payment because the credit history gods look at it like "this dude has debt, but he's also honoring it by paying it off".

Like if you get a credit card from Best Buy, you buy a TV for $1200.00. If you pay off the tv right away, then you have very little history of using that credit cause you paid it off right away. But if you steadily pay it off over like a year, thats a year's worth of credit history of you honoring debt and showing you have a stable credit history.

They do say 7 years for medical bills to be erased, but in those 7 years, those medical bills will remain as a stain on your credit report and will impact your ability to apply for a car loan, house loan, and as I explained earlier, your potential employment.

Very well said Savak

I will also add stay away from rent to own like Aarons or Rent a center as they do not report to the credit bureau a good place to go to rebuild or start credit are places like Conn's Home Plus (they helped rebuild my credit after I trashed mine years ago) they use installment loans which sometimes helps build you credit faster especially if you have little to no credit since it is not a recurring charge account like a credit card is. The only thing is that if you have really bad credit like under 580 or so they will sometimes ask for check stubs or proof of income which could be difficult for providers or people who get paid in cash to come up with sometimes. And I am not sure who said it but whoever said that it doesn't matter about how much you pay on your account is correct so making big payments on an account isn't nearly as important as how consistently you make them I have seen many people buy things pay it off in just 2 or 3 months and then wonder why there credit didn't go up, and its because they have no history you have to remember most places that use credit cards that are backed by the major credit card companies (i.e. Mastercard, visa etc...) only report to the bureaus every quarter and sometimes not to all three bureaus. Which is why I like installment loans or personal loans as most (not all) usually report every month and to all 3 bureaus.

Also be careful on how often you run your credit I have seen people run there credit just to see what there score is at and if they get approved but don't uses they either close their account right away which means they just took a hit on their credit score for no reason or now they have this open credit line and it messes with their whole debt/income ratio which affects your score as well. You should only run your credit if you actually have the intention to buy something don't run just to see how much you can get.

Anyway good luck just my .02

[b0nd]

Originally Posted by a10bomb

Also be careful on how often you run your credit I have seen people run there credit just to see what there score is at and if they get approved but don't uses they either close their account right away which means they just took a hit on their credit score for no reason or now they have this open credit line and it messes with their whole debt/income ratio which affects your score as well. You should only run your credit if you actually have the intention to buy something don't run just to see how much you can get.

Anyway good luck just my .02

Agreed...never apply for a loan just get your credit score. The hit on your score isn't worth it. Just pay the few bucks to get it online.

[MsPrittiKitti]

Originally Posted by savak

They do say 7 years for medical bills to be erased, but in those 7 years, those medical bills will remain as a stain on your credit report and will impact your ability to apply for a car loan, house loan, and as I explained earlier, your potential employment.

dang it!!
I have some medical bills from a car accident i had. I owe less than $1000 (now), and was making payments to them. Then the frigging bill collector made a smart a** comment about "why" i wasnt paying it off faster, and made remarks about my employer/health insurance plan. Oh boy! That struck a nerve & I let him have it. I was doing the right thing (i just wouldnt agree to a payment plan), and i was paying timely...then he said that. Lol so i said forget it! Yea, itll hurt me..but im stubborn and it was the point. Plus I "heard" it was gonna fall off in time (and i been hoping its true). Thats the only thing against my credit, but it bugs me that its there. . I have a credit card...i use it for large purchases (did you know certain credit cards will give you a 1yr warranty on purchases? Theres perks to owning a credit card. The catch is, you gotta know how to use it properly & to your advantage. )

Yes!! I know people also that were terminated due to mismanaging their finances. I recently saw on cnn or msnbc that theyre trying to do away with credit having an effect on employment. Something about how the economy is so poor, many people are falling on tough times.

[Guest101314]

Good points everyone!

I'm not trying to get a job in finance. I have an accounting background and realized this last year that that is not something I want to spend the rest of my life doing. Booooorrrriiiinnnnggg... In fact, I honestly don't feel that I could work for another person again in my life.

Also, I check it once a year. And your credit doesn't get "dinged" if you check it yourself. Look it up. Your credit will only get points if outsiders check it. The reason I'm making large payments on my car is not so much for credit as it is proving to the car lot that I can afford these payments. Still have a few things to do before I can get the car I really want, but everything is in motion.

Also, MPK if there is any activity on the account, it will NOT drop off after seven years. Example, let's say you have a $20,000 med bill that you've been making payments on for six years. After the seventh year, whatever your balance is will still be yours to pay, it won't automatically fall off. Now if you had that balance and creditors couldn't get a hold of you, you never paid, etc, then yes, it will drop off. Not really fair, because people could just not pay and then they disappear, but it's the effect of having them on there for so long.

Oh and about Conn's...... Fuck that place. Tried charging me $2400 for a $600 couch a few years back. That's with their installment plan for low credit people. I paid $1200 on the couch and sold it. Those types of places are like payday loan places.. untrustworthy and sheisty. I would never suggest going there.

[a10bomb]

Originally Posted by Tracy Auburn

Good points everyone!


Oh and about Conn's...... Fuck that place. Tried charging me $2400 for a $600 couch a few years back. That's with their installment plan for low credit people. I paid $1200 on the couch and sold it. Those types of places are like payday loan places.. untrustworthy and sheisty. I would never suggest going there.

If you go through there RAC program then yes you end up spending a lot more on product but that program is for really really bad credit and I usually don't reccomend it unless it is something you really need or something you can't do without or you have no other option but if you are going through there regular conns financing then it is just like any other financing program read your contract ask questions and ask about your no interest options where you can now get at least 3-6 months no interest on just about anything (unless you are going through the RAC program).

[htownsa]

pay your medical bills current if possible, but if the unpaid balance is relatively low, it usually can be over looked if the traditional pay history is solid...also, as long as you all pay your monthly student loans payment current..the size of it is not calculated in your personal debt totals. Building credit is about paying your dues to earn lower finance charges later on larger debts.

in simple terms credit is nothing more than proof you can pay your bill on time, every time. For the master class, the next step is playing with your debt/credit/usuage ratios on different lines of credit that you already have to trigger the highest Fico you can.

Ive met so many people who should have a 750-800 wind up with a 650 because they had no clue about how bad they were mucking themselves up.

[handyGiraffe]

Going into a bank and filling out an application for a credit card is the same as going in to fill out a application for a loan. It will generate a hard credit check on your credit through the credit reporting agencies...as much as -20 points and will reduce your score even further...

My suggestion is to find a "friendly banker".... consolidate all of your outstanding loans into 1 low current interest loan- to pay them current, and then don't be late on paying that loan. You will probably be paying less monthly than currently and you will have some money you can set aside for future projects.