Hello, I just recent check my free credit report from Equifax and it says that my debt to credit ratio is at 97%!! I have a mortage on there, a car loan plus school loans as well as two store cards and 1 secure credit card. I think that is bad right? How to I balance this? I can not pay off the mortage or the car loan at this time. Thanks in advance for your help.
Yes, 97% is very bad. Pay those balances down on the secured card and retail cards right away, and you'll see an immediate improvement in your credit scores. Don't worry about the mortgage and car loan...only revolving credit (like credit cards) is included in your credit utilization ratio.
Okay, this is what it says: Mortgage is at 100% debt to credit (i just bought a house in March) Installment: 98% (I think this is my car and student loans) Revolving: 15% Total: 97%
I wouldn't worry too much about the mortgage and installment loans. Follow your current payment plans and pay them down as fast as you can, but that's about all you can do. Your credit utilization ratio is what has a greater effect on your FICO scores, and you're at 15%, which isn't bad. If you can pay down your debt and get that under 10%, that would be ideal.
