I hate Habib with the credit card company

[1stTimeCaller]

If he says 'Let me tell you....' one more time I'm gonna drive to India and kick his ***.

[JohnnyMack]

You can't drive to India.

Oceans.

Dumba*s.

[Hamhock]

You shouldn't have credit cards in the first place.

Dumba*s

;)

(at least I put a winkie on mine. apparently, JM isn'g kidding)

[1stTimeCaller]

I'm just using it to establish another line of credit that I pay off every month. It has a whopping $500 limit. They keep trying to make the limit bigger but I don't need any more than a $500 limit. Would it help my credit score if the availiable limit on this was higher?

[JohnnyMack]

I'm just using it to establish another line of credit that I pay off every month. It has a whopping $500 limit. They keep trying to make the limit bigger but I don't need any more than a $500 limit. Would it help my credit score if the availiable limit on this was higher?

Yes.

[skycat]

The more unused credit available to you, the bettter off you are.

[Hamhock]

I'm just using it to establish another line of credit that I pay off every month. It has a whopping $500 limit. They keep trying to make the limit bigger but I don't need any more than a $500 limit. Would it help my credit score if the availiable limit on this was higher?


You shouldn't need a credit score.

Seriously, I don't know. Some people say more, unused credit helps you. Others say that creditors evaluate you with the understanding that all of your available credit could get maxed out at any time, so a little is better. I think if you are trying to appeal to creditors, then a little credit, with consistent payments, over a long period of time works.

But, you shouldn't be borrowing money in the first place. ;)

[OUAndy1807]

his name is Jason, or Tim.

[Osce0la]

The more unused credit available to you, the bettter off you are.
However, if you have too much available credit, it can keep you from getting loans and stuff...I'd raise it to maybe $1,000 at most.

[1stTimeCaller]

I'd like to buy a house before I'm 50. Maybe I could just save the money in a passbook savings account that pays .05% or maybe an ING Orange savings and make 4% on it. In 23 years of saving money at or near inflation I would have made exactly $0 in saving money to pay cash for a house. Thank you Dave Ramsey and Bruce.
;)

[Osce0la]

You shouldn't need a credit score.

Seriously, I don't know. Some people say more, unused credit helps you. Others say that creditors evaluate you with the understanding that all of your available credit could get maxed out at any time, so a little is better. I think if you are trying to appeal to creditors, then a little credit, with consistent payments, over a long period of time works.

But, you shouldn't be borrowing money in the first place. ;)
That's basically it. I don't think the limit on your cards would have any effect on your credit score. If you're not even maxing out a $500 card, I wouldn't think they'd let the fact that it is only $500 hinder them from approving you for a loan or anything. Consistent payments (on time) will raise your score, thus showing that they have reasons to approve you for something higher.

[skycat]

However, if you have too much available credit, it can keep you from getting loans and stuff...I'd raise it to maybe $1,000 at most.

Is that true? I've got quite a bit of unused available credit. Enough that I'd consider myself to be in pretty big trouble if I ever used it all, but I haven't had problems getting good rates on my house or car (which just got payed off. Yay me!).

[Hamhock]

I'd like to buy a house before I'm 50. Maybe I could just save the money in a passbook savings account that pays .05% or maybe an ING Orange savings and make 4% on it. In 23 years of saving money at or near inflation I would have made exactly $0 in saving money to pay cash for a house. Thank you Dave Ramsey and Bruce.
;)


Dave says you only need 3-6 months in your ING/Passbook account. The rest in mutual funds earning around 12%. In 23 years you'll be able to pay cash for your house. ;)

I'm don't think Dave advocates never borrowing for a house. If he does, I disagree with him. I think the alternative of throwing away rent is much worse than borrowing money for an appreciating asset. I think most people get in trouble because they believe the formulas that tell you how much house you can afford.

[Osce0la]

Is that true? I've got quite a bit of unused available credit. Enough that I'd consider myself to be in pretty big trouble if I ever used it all, but I haven't had problems getting good rates on my house or car (which just got payed off. Yay me!).
I'll use my mom as an example...She was trying to consolidate stuff, but couldn't get approved because of the fact that she had so much available credit on her cards...Had nothing to do with her credit score, as she's always had good credit (and my car being in her name has kinda helped that along - while doing nothing to help me :mad:).


Of course, this doesn't apply towards say buying a car or applying for a mortgage.

[Hamhock]

Is that true? I've got quite a bit of unused available credit. Enough that I'd consider myself to be in pretty big trouble if I ever used it all, but I haven't had problems getting good rates on my house or car (which just got payed off. Yay me!).


I've been told that. They look at you and say, sure, he has $75k of available credit with nothing drawn on it, but if he gets into trouble (disability, etc), he'll immediately be $75k in debt and won't be able to pay us.

[skycat]

Interesting.

I do know that my score is pretty good, but maybe it's time to cancel one of those unused credit cards. I'll have to do some research.

[Hamhock]

The South Oval - saving peoples financial lives, one piece of bad advice at a time.

[GottaHavePride]

Do a search for one of FrozenSooner's responses to this question - he's the financial guru.

[colleyvillesooner]

Do a search for one of FrozenSooner's responses to this question - he's the financial guru.

Dude, he can't help, JK ran him off, remember? ;)

[Hamhock]

If he says 'Let me tell you....' one more time I'm gonna drive to India and kick his ***.


Why does he got to be Habib? Why can't he be Tommy, or Philbert, or something?

[jeremy885]

Interesting.

I do know that my score is pretty good, but maybe it's time to cancel one of those unused credit cards. I'll have to do some research.

Doesn't canceling a card hurt you in the short term by showing a reduction in credit?

[TheHumanAlphabet]

Banks and credit card companies are the Devil!

[TheHumanAlphabet]

Dave says you only need 3-6 months in your ING/Passbook account. The rest in mutual funds earning around 12%. In 23 years you'll be able to pay cash for your house. ;)

I'm don't think Dave advocates never borrowing for a house. If he does, I disagree with him. I think the alternative of throwing away rent is much worse than borrowing money for an appreciating asset. I think most people get in trouble because they believe the formulas that tell you how much house you can afford.

As a strong believer in Dave Ramsey, and a person who is debt free except for the house, Dave's philosophy would be to pay cash if possible, but he understands that most people need to have a mortgage, so he agrees on mortgages as long as you have a good down payment (~20%) and have a 15-year fixed mortgage. I have had good luck with J.B. Nutter and Associates, based out of KC. The owner is a big liberal and lib donor, but I holds my nose when I write the check as they service the mortgage, don't sell it and always speak to a person when calling.

[skycat]

Doesn't canceling a card hurt you in the short term by showing a reduction in credit?


See, this is the kind of clarity of advice that I expect from the SO. :texan:

[jeremy885]

See, this is the kind of clarity of advice that I expect from the SO. :texan:

Got it from MSN money

[QUOTE=MSN]Closing accounts can help your credit score
No, no, no. For the umpteenth time: Closing accounts can never help your credit score, and may hurt it.

Every time I write this, I get more e-mail from people who say their mortgage lenders told them exactly the opposite. It’s true that having too many open accounts can hurt your score. But once you’ve opened the accounts, you’ve done the damage. You can’t repair it by shutting the account, and you may actually make things worse.

The credit score looks at the difference between your available credit and what you’re using. Shut down accounts, and your total available credit shrinks, making your balances loom larger, which typically hurts your score.

The score also tracks the length of your credit history. Shutting older accounts can also make your credit history look younger than it actually is, which can hurt your score.

Of course, credit scores aren't the only thing lenders look at when making decisions. They typically consider other factors, such as your income, assets, employment history and credit limits. Mortgage lenders in particular might look at your total available credit and ask you to close a few accounts as a condition for getting a loan.

But if your goal is to improve your credit score, you generally shouldn't close accounts in advance of such a request. Instead, pay down your credit card debt. That's something that actually can improve your score.[QUOTE/]

http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/Banking/Yourcreditrating/P41876.asp

[Hamhock]

What If you have 5 credit cards with no balances? The article adresses someone with some balances that closes the remaining cards.

[jeremy885]

She was saying that you should only close accounts if you are ask to by a lender (i.e. if your getting a mortgage).

[Skysooner]

My credit score is near 760, and I have around $80k in unused credit card lines. I pay them off every month. It is having these for a long period of time and paying things off on time that builds up the score.

[Hoosier Dynasty]

Is that true? I've got quite a bit of unused available credit. Enough that I'd consider myself to be in pretty big trouble if I ever used it all, but I haven't had problems getting good rates on my house or car (which just got payed off. Yay me!).

That's when you cash in (max out), change your name to Ernesto and move to Argentina.

[mdklatt]

Should I ask my credit card companies to quit raising my limits? :confused:

[Hoosier Dynasty]

Should I ask my credit card companies to quit raising my limits? :confused:

You have to ask? I've found that as long as you pay your statements on time and maintain a low (or no) balance, they'll automatically raise them. I have one card that goes up a couple thousand dollars every 3-4 months!

[Stoop Dawg]

You can get a free credit report (without having to sign up for a free trial or anything) every 12 months from this site: https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp

You'll have to pay $7 or $8 to get your "credit score" though.

[Hoosier Dynasty]

You can get a free credit report (without having to sign up for a free trial or anything) every 12 months from this site: https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp

You'll have to pay $7 or $8 to get your "credit score" though.

TransUnion sucks . . . so much unnecessary garbage to get your report. Equifax is the best anyway.

[Stoop Dawg]

I only did Equifax and it was quite easy. If you haven't looked at yours in a while, it's interesting to see what's on there.

Blockbuster turned me over to a collection agency for a $24 (or so) late fee. I thought it was amusing to see them try to collect and never paid it. Their notices said things like "you are in our national database" trying to make me think they reported $24 to a freakin credit agency. Whatever, it isn't on there.

The only "ding" is a missed payment in January 2006 on a credit card (I'd like to point out that this is AFTER my wife started paying the bills). Dang credit card company reported ONE missed payment on a card I've carried (and used and consistently paid) for over 10 years. Bastages.

[skycat]

I've only got one ding and it's from Sam's club. I stopped going and wasn't going to renew, so I just stopped opening their mail.

Apparently they billed me automatically on my Sam's Card for renewal of my membership. I didn't even know that they could do that. And since i wasn't opening mail from them, I didn't know for months.

effin' Wal-Mart

[Hoosier Dynasty]

I've only got one ding and it's from Sam's club. I stopped going and wasn't going to renew, so I just stopped opening their mail.

Apparently they billed me automatically on my Sam's Card for renewal of my membership. I didn't even know that they could do that. And since i wasn't opening mail from them, I didn't know for months.

effin' Wal-Mart

Yeah, I'm pretty sure they're not supposed to do that.:eek: Unless the terms of the agreement express that it is revolving unless otherwise indicated or actually closed by the customer.