I had some credit accounts and just got a bunch more.I did this to spread the debt, to keep ratio low, and to pay off the big CC debt. Forgive me if I pressume wrong. You seem to have a lot of cards. Several will be sock (cubbord) soon , but is a lot of CC a bad thing. And what is this about keeping a 5 dollat balance. I have enough due dates to think about and was happy to forget about 3 of the cards. Will this hurt me? I don't need the credit, just the lines. Any advice?
I'm not George, but I keep a 0 balance on my cards because I don't want to pay the interest. I read somewhere that CC companies don't like when you keep a 0 balance because it costs them in the neighborhood of $24 annually to maintain your account. If they're not recouping anything back, you're not valuable to them and sometimes they close your account. Now I don't know anyone this has happened to. That is why I plan to keep a low balance of $5-10 next month. So they can get a nibble. It is important to keep up with your closing date on your cards every month.
Thanks for responding. I was hoping to retire these cards but I guess I will have to save them. These are 3 of my oldest cards so I don't want the accounts to close. I just wish everything could be done via online auto payment. I swear, I have bills due spread out over the whole month, impossible to remember all the dates.
Go to a arts supply store and get one of those giant calenders, the kind you can mark on. Put that up in your kitchen or utility room. Get out all your bills and write the due dates on the board, preferably in red ink. That's the easiest way to remember.
I use a spreadsheet for my budgeting, and each time I get a CC statement, I make sure I enter an amount for the week it should get paid, same goes for all of my other bills. I try to pay most everything online, but I still need something to remind me when everything is due. Every pay day, I look at my column on my spreadsheet corresponding to the date and pay all of the bills with something in the amount column. If you aren't much of a computer person, the whiteboard is a great idea too.
Hey, these are both great ideas! I am a computer person but actually having a "big" calender would help too. Only problem is I'm out of town on a regular basis. Years ago, I thought missing a pay due date meant $25. Now I know the real impact! I just wish I could eliminate some cards. Need them, but just want to have less stress every month. I may actually get that big calender! It sounds fun today.Now, to find an art store....
I have one of those big calenders to help me remember my bills. I write the due dates in a week earlier than they are actually due. That way, even if I forget to look at the board for a couple of days - I still can't go wrong
I keep track of my bills through Quicken which tells me when payments are due. As a backup, the card companies themselves will tell me when a statement has posted or a payment is due in some instances. I usually pay when I review the online statement. This means that the bill is paid long before the paper statement comes in the mail and there is -0- risk of a late charge.
Yes, it is also, IMO a good idea NOT to go to "paperless" billng. You may not know this, but when you get the "printer friendly" version of your on-line bills, notices are omitted.I also immediately print out the on-line payment,and hold it for attachment to the paper bill when it arrives.
Thanks all, for all the advice.Now about the balance thing, I paid off 3 retail cards after credit report said my retail balance was too high. Can I just forget about them now or is it important to show activity on those cards?
what is your point? remember me? I dont mean what is your point to be offensive I just want you to think about it the next time you say that to someone. Good luck
Yes, I remember you. I waited anxiously for a "new" credit fix method. I would have been just fine listening to your "old" approach. I appreciate everyones success stories and have indeed learned from others progress. That is why I couldn't understand your point of dragging the thread on and on when everyone just asked what you had done. That was the "point" I didn't understand. I'm glad things have worked well for you but if I had known it had involved bancruptcy, I probably would have spent more time searching the archives for topics that pertain to my situation. As far as what my point is on the question I posted, I just wanted to know if I need to keep cards active.
just ignore him ginger.. he obviously has some sort of agenda, and it's not participating as a contributing member of the group. I'm even considering changing my ID here as I don't want anyone to confuse me for him ...
Have you contacted any of your creditors and to try and change the due dates. I know for most of my credit cards, I was able to change the due date to best fit how I pay them.
Well, now that's an idea. I thought they just dictated when my bill was due. I will do this as I have more bills to pay now even though my debt is getting lower. They are all spread out through the month. I can pay many of them online but all the different passcodes is impossible. I use pretty much the same name and code now but some require more characters so it is always a pain to remember them all. I think I will put a file on my computer with them all. I also tried my credit unions bill payer service. At first I thought it was great. Then, I realized I still had to pay at least 10 days ahead of the due date. They were sitting on my money for 10 days,no good.
Ginger2, I'm sorry, normally when someone says "what is your point" and thats it, it is usually offensive. That is all, I have read your previous posts and you seem to be a nice person, that is my fault and I am sorry. I don't want you to be sucked in to the negativity that I receive all the time in my posts. You do not ever deserve that. Also If you go back and read the post from page 1. Louey was wondering how to raise a FICO score from the 400's to 700's. I feel that I shared so much personal information to help him because I have been there and done that. In fact Steve thought it was a great question and wanted other experienced users to help him out. Only one experienced user was able to help him. I had never claimed I had a "new" way to fix credit reports. My point was that others like LKH have an "higher than thou attitude" and will bash anything I say to give his or her ego a boost. If you go back and read the post from page 1 of "FICO SCORES from 400's to 700's" I tried to avoid the flame throwing and insults. In my opinion and it is only an opinion not a fact, is that the tactics from others like LKH do not work in the past like they used to. Look at someone on this site like Bill Bauer he gets bashed all the time but could teach at least 99% of all of us many endless things. The "higher than thou attitude" came from others that need to protect their ego. I have exposed more about myself than any other user here will ever do. I in no way ever believe in telling someone they should file Bankruptcy ever. I have gone from the 400's in FICO points and will soon be in the 700's by summer. If you need help ask me but I will be attacked by others that have an ego. I am sorry!
Re: Re: George question I have seen that to and it is not your fault. I am sorry others make you feel that way. Just go back and actually read how I tried to avoid the name-calling. All that all I was claiming, was that things do not work the way they used to. I have noticed someone confused you for me and I have no control over that. SORRY!!!!!!!!
Jason, I have read the thread that Louey staryed and I thought it was great. There was much hope and promise in those posts. It is amazing to go from bad credit to improving it everyday. I am certainly no where near the improvement level of you. I actually only have a neg listing ( 5 year paid chargeoff $89.00+ a slew of fees that apparently occured when I moved states. I have scoured the archives endlessly on OC FCRA regs. I have tried everything listed I have seen on here. (Ok, got carried away with the nutcase letters and sent 2nd first,mistake) They have re-verified info 5 times even though it is different on every report and pulled my credit report and then denied it. Yes, I know my next step is to sue. I was hoping to have the luck of others in getting deletions for innacurate info, but it is a no go. So, I really didn't mean to sound negative to you. I guess I just am so obsessed with this item that I want to spend my countless hours of sifting through posts on the issues that could guide me in this. But, hey, I am also trying to bring my score up in other ways and did get some good points from your posts. Good luck to everyone on their credit mission. I look forward to the day that it is not on my mind all the time.
Jason1971, I suggest if you don't want to hear from me, that you cease posting about me every time you post. Period. And as I suggested before, you need to get some help. []
It's become clear that this individual is here mostly to disrupt and harass other members -- account disabled. CCN steve
