Currently my scores are: EXP: 674 EQFX: 668 TU: 681 The only things keeping my scores down are: 1) I have 4 accounts with over 50% utilization, 2 of which are close to the limit, the other two are low limit accounts. 2) My total amount of revolving debt: Currently $31k, down from $36k only a few months ago. I make approximately $52k/yr...which is a recent development. I was using the cards to pay a lot of my living expenses when my employment situation was less than desirable, and was afraid at one point that I would have to file BK! My goal is to get my score above 700 ASAP! I am wondering if I would be better served to simply pay off my lower limit accounts, one happens to carry the highest interest rate....OR....would I be better served to get my 2 larger account balances away from the credit limit? I understand that the ultimate "get out of debt" strategy is to pay as much as possible to the highest rate accounts first, and minimums to the others...but I really feel I could benefit by getting my score up quickly (so that I can feel confident applying for 0%APR cards, or low APR for lifetime cards). Your input is much appreciated.
I suppose it all depends on what you want to do. Your score will go up a bit if you can get your utilization down on the high limit cards. However, there is always that nice feeling of satisfaction about having card debt paid off. I say pay down your high balances first and maybe send in a bit more as well to the high rate account.
Re: Re: Aspiring 700 club Come on guys....you can give me better advice than that!!! I heard a lot of good things about this site before posting here...don't disappoint me with "I suppose it all depends on what you want to do." I WANT MY SCORE TO GO UP ASAP!!! What to do?
You want to jump your score, pay down your high balances. Maybe if you can be bothered to use the search feature and read, you would not have to ask basic questions and then I don't have to worry about wasting my time or yours. You want help, don't say "Your input is much appreciated" (you seem smart, maybe you'll catch my sarcasm here) then turn around and be and disregard what I said.
Re: Re: Re: Aspiring 700 club Listen to the advice of others here...there is no "magic bullet". It takes time, and hard work to improve your scores. You should be reading all the previous postings for 2 or 3 solid weeks before even attempting to repair anything!
Re: Re: Re: Aspiring 700 club Actually I did spend quite a lot of time reading through the forums here....I even spent time offering my own advice to others I thought might benefit from it. It seems to me that this forum is 99% people who have Collections on their CR and are trying to get them off. I didn't see more than one or two posts from people who were in even close to the same situation that I'm in. And I certainly haven't seen anyone ask the specific question I asked. I highly doubt that you would be able to supply a link to a previous discussion on that exact topic: Bigger positive effect on short term credit score: Pay down high balance cards or pay off lower balance cards?
Re: Re: Re: Re: Aspiring 700 club Yeeeeeeah......I can see that. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Took one search and about 2 minutes to find it. I just wanted to see if I could since your attitude is still jacked and I am not really inclined to help you. However, the information might help someone else. http://consumers.creditnet.com/stra...p?s=&threadid=60170&highlight=increase+scores
Re: Re: Re: Re: Aspiring 700 club I think one of the factors in the score is the debt to limit ratio. For example, if you have a 10,000 limit, but only use $2,000 of that the ratio is 20%. Whereas if you have a card that is $10,000 and you have $9000 on that card, you'll have a lower score. I think what you'd want to do is pay off the cards with the higher balance in relation to the limit. Does that make any sense? I think so... but I'm no expert.
Re: Re: Re: Re: Aspiring 700 club I'm currently digging myself out of the same situation. My scores and salary are comparable to yours. I have about $8600 total debt (cc's and a personal loan). One thing I found - there's no such thing as ASAP in the credit world. I created a budget where I'm paying off my lowest limit card, then my next lowest and so on. My budget is for exactly one year - in December I'll have all my cc's paid off - I'll have about 2k left on my personal loan and 3k in my savings account. The only reason I'm paying off my lowest limit card first is so it gets out of my face on off my books (3 bills turn into 2 bills and so on). You really have to figure out what's best for you - I worked and reworked my budget for months before I came up with something that made me feel like I wasn't starving myself to death.
Re: Re: Re: Re: Aspiring 700 club Yeah, paying off the lowest may not be the most fiscally productive, but it has a big mental impact when those things disappear. It makes goals seem more real.
