Comments on: Your FICO score can save you thousands of dollars in 5 minutes http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/your-fico-score-can-save-you-thousands-of-dollars-in-5-minutes/ Personal finance blog for college students, recent graduates and everyone else -- including entrepreneurship -- for getting rich. Featured in the Wall Street Journal and New York Times. Sun, 12 Feb 2012 18:46:58 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v= By: Jonathan http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/your-fico-score-can-save-you-thousands-of-dollars-in-5-minutes/#comment-64326 Jonathan Tue, 17 Jun 2008 08:53:51 +0000 http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/your-fico-score-can-save-you-thousands-of-dollars-in-5-minutes#comment-64326 i am fairly sure my FICO scores must be realy high, even though i haven't checked them in a long time (I resent having to pay a company to know basic information about me). Anyway, since I have no debt and never carry balances on my credit cards, and actually pay them off several times a month, and have thousands of dollars in available credit, and they keep upping my limits, well I must be in good shape. i am fairly sure my FICO scores must be realy high, even though i haven’t checked them in a long time (I resent having to pay a company to know basic information about me). Anyway, since I have no debt and never carry balances on my credit cards, and actually pay them off several times a month, and have thousands of dollars in available credit, and they keep upping my limits, well I must be in good shape.

]]> By: Jack http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/your-fico-score-can-save-you-thousands-of-dollars-in-5-minutes/#comment-56454 Jack Thu, 20 Mar 2008 23:13:02 +0000 http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/your-fico-score-can-save-you-thousands-of-dollars-in-5-minutes#comment-56454 For those people who think that if you make a big purchase on one day and paying that whole amount the next day, has no impact on your credit score whatsoever. It only shows as a high credit on your report. The balance on your closing date of your credit card is what shows up on the credit bureaus, that's all that matters. For example if your closing date for a particular CC is on the 19th of the month, make sure that your balance is less than 7% by the 17th of the month, and don't use that card till after the 19th. Whatever your balance is on 19th is what's going to show on your credit report and thats calculated against your credit limit for the card as available credit or debt to credit ratio. This balance also adds to your other balances on your other open accounts and is weighed against the credit limits of all your cards. for your score to go up you need to have this balance less than 7% of your total limit. for the highest score possible, just keep your balance as 0 on your closing dates. NO, you do not have to show balances on your report, to prove to the credit bureaus that you are using your card. To work around this, keep your balances high for 5 to 6 months, (DO THIS ONLY IF YOU HAVE THE MONEY TO PAY IT OFF). and then after 6 months just keep your balances at 7% or less, if possible. Don't open more than 6 credit cards in your life time. No, having 20 credit cards on your report wont hurt you score, but damn if you can manage 20 cards without putting yourself in debt, go ahead. 6 cards are maximum, I would recommend. AMEX, Discover, Visa, Mastercard are the 4 which are a must, and then maybe a Travel card from one of those companies and a gas card. NEVER close your CC accounts. if you have 40 years of history on a card, if you close it, its all GONE in seconds. this is very very important. for those purchasing a home, make sure your credit is rid of negative reports, for best interest deals, and try and clear your balances 6 months to 12 months before you decide to get that mortgage. That's what lenders like to see a long established history of on time payments, a score about 730(not required)..and a nice clean clean report, rid of judgments, liens, bankruptcies ( very bad) and foreclosures. Hope this helps! For those people who think that if you make a big purchase on one day and paying that whole amount the next day, has no impact on your credit score whatsoever. It only shows as a high credit on your report. The balance on your closing date of your credit card is what shows up on the credit bureaus, that’s all that matters. For example if your closing date for a particular CC is on the 19th of the month, make sure that your balance is less than 7% by the 17th of the month, and don’t use that card till after the 19th. Whatever your balance is on 19th is what’s going to show on your credit report and thats calculated against your credit limit for the card as available credit or debt to credit ratio. This balance also adds to your other balances on your other open accounts and is weighed against the credit limits of all your cards. for your score to go up you need to have this balance less than 7% of your total limit. for the highest score possible, just keep your balance as 0 on your closing dates.
NO, you do not have to show balances on your report, to prove to the credit bureaus that you are using your card. To work around this, keep your balances high for 5 to 6 months, (DO THIS ONLY IF YOU HAVE THE MONEY TO PAY IT OFF). and then after 6 months just keep your balances at 7% or less, if possible.
Don’t open more than 6 credit cards in your life time. No, having 20 credit cards on your report wont hurt you score, but damn if you can manage 20 cards without putting yourself in debt, go ahead. 6 cards are maximum, I would recommend.
AMEX, Discover, Visa, Mastercard are the 4 which are a must, and then maybe a Travel card from one of those companies and a gas card. NEVER close your CC accounts. if you have 40 years of history on a card, if you close it, its all GONE in seconds. this is very very important. for those purchasing a home, make sure your credit is rid of negative reports, for best interest deals, and try and clear your balances 6 months to 12 months before you decide to get that mortgage. That’s what lenders like to see a long established history of on time payments, a score about 730(not required)..and a nice clean clean report, rid of judgments, liens, bankruptcies ( very bad) and foreclosures.
Hope this helps!

]]> By: Jack http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/your-fico-score-can-save-you-thousands-of-dollars-in-5-minutes/#comment-56452 Jack Thu, 20 Mar 2008 22:58:47 +0000 http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/your-fico-score-can-save-you-thousands-of-dollars-in-5-minutes#comment-56452 The most important key is to not have any negative items on your report. Late payments are a big no-no. It so much easier for your score to drop in a matter of days, but it takes months to bring it back up. Making the minimum monthly payment is all it takes to count for as an on-time payment. It's not so hard guys. What's interesting on the Equifax Report is that even if I carry a balance of $1 out of a total limit of $5000, it shows up as a balance hurting my score. Only when the balance for a month shows up as 0, it doesn't show as something tha'ts hurting your score. I find this really weird. I'm a foreign student, I've had credit for only 14 months now, my FICO score is stuck on EQ 734, EX 723, TU 703. It says that when i have 3 years or more, that my score will steadily increase, as I have a short history. I have all the major credit cards. Just dont spend what you dont have, that's the key. The most important key is to not have any negative items on your report. Late payments are a big no-no. It so much easier for your score to drop in a matter of days, but it takes months to bring it back up. Making the minimum monthly payment is all it takes to count for as an on-time payment. It’s not so hard guys. What’s interesting on the Equifax Report is that even if I carry a balance of $1 out of a total limit of $5000, it shows up as a balance hurting my score. Only when the balance for a month shows up as 0, it doesn’t show as something tha’ts hurting your score. I find this really weird. I’m a foreign student, I’ve had credit for only 14 months now, my FICO score is stuck on EQ 734, EX 723, TU 703. It says that when i have 3 years or more, that my score will steadily increase, as I have a short history. I have all the major credit cards. Just dont spend what you dont have, that’s the key.

]]> By: melinda http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/your-fico-score-can-save-you-thousands-of-dollars-in-5-minutes/#comment-43725 melinda Wed, 12 Dec 2007 07:13:55 +0000 http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/your-fico-score-can-save-you-thousands-of-dollars-in-5-minutes#comment-43725 I just wanted to tell you that you are correct if you can get 20 credit card no annual fees do not use them every 6-9 months ask for a credit limit to be higher and you can continue to do so even more cards dont use them you can actually become an millionaire. If you are smart and you get an offer to get a loan very very loan business loan only and you start a business becaue your fico score is so amazingly high you can ask for about a million dollars do not be a fool though invest yourself in a business that has already been established for some years check the books if the company makes a million or more a year in rofit all your diligent work on making your fico score up to 800 is worth it. Have you ever gone into a car dealership and just gave a signature or your loan for a car and drove a way without a dime down ? Well it can be done and once you do it you will learn to protect your credit score and Fico like it is one of your children or animals if not kids. My other advice is dont use your money to purchase the business get it owner financed then go and get your loan and think it throughtly if this business is good open another make sure you are incorporated. I have my own business I do not work deliver birthday cakes and cards drop in to check on things when no one expects me checks the account weekly make sure my employees are happy with their jobs and my account has all my bills paid and all my customer are paying me and taxes are done quarterly, Calling some customers whom I know for lunch here and their and banks just keep giving me more and more customers and people keep giving me more and more work of mouth and thy just keep coming I know have a multi billion dollar comapny who wants to buy me out and I am not ready. This gentleman who started this is right on time with his knowledge. Take care of your FiCO it is your lifeline depending on how you want to live. Happy Holidays to all. One more things always give or help some one who may need something if its a homeless person and you just ordered lunch and it they look like they need some nourishment give up your food you wont die for 3 hours until your home. Always pay it forward even if its just to help buy some one you dont know groceries or some gas you will see. You will prosper I just wanted to tell you that you are correct if you can get 20 credit card no annual fees do not use them every 6-9 months ask for a credit limit to be higher and you can continue to do so even more cards dont use them you can actually become an millionaire. If you are smart and you get an offer to get a loan very very loan business loan only and you start a business becaue your fico score is so amazingly high you can ask for about a million dollars do not be a fool though invest yourself in a business that has already been established for some years check the books if the company makes a million or more a year in rofit all your diligent work on making your fico score up to 800 is worth it. Have you ever gone into a car dealership and just gave a signature or your loan for a car and drove a way without a dime down ? Well it can be done and once you do it you will learn to protect your credit score and Fico like it is one of your children or animals if not kids. My other advice is dont use your money to purchase the business get it owner financed then go and get your loan and think it throughtly if this business is good open another make sure you are incorporated. I have my own business I do not work deliver birthday cakes and cards drop in to check on things when no one expects me checks the account weekly make sure my employees are happy with their jobs and my account has all my bills paid and all my customer are paying me and taxes are done quarterly, Calling some customers whom I know for lunch here and their and banks just keep giving me more and more customers and people keep giving me more and more work of mouth and thy just keep coming I know have a multi billion dollar comapny who wants to buy me out and I am not ready. This gentleman who started this is right on time with his knowledge. Take care of your FiCO it is your lifeline depending on how you want to live. Happy Holidays to all. One more things always give or help some one who may need something if its a homeless person and you just ordered lunch and it they look like they need some nourishment give up your food you wont die for 3 hours until your home. Always pay it forward even if its just to help buy some one you dont know groceries or some gas you will see. You will prosper

]]> By: Smart one http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/your-fico-score-can-save-you-thousands-of-dollars-in-5-minutes/#comment-22552 Smart one Sun, 17 Jun 2007 05:50:37 +0000 http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/your-fico-score-can-save-you-thousands-of-dollars-in-5-minutes#comment-22552 Hello, I have a 623 credit score. I also have a judgement from December 2000 on my report that was satisfied- paid in full. Can ou please tell me how much will m credit score increase once the judgement is removed in December 2007? Thank you. Hello, I have a 623 credit score. I also have a judgement from December 2000 on my report that was satisfied- paid in full. Can ou please tell me how much will m credit score increase once the judgement is removed in December 2007? Thank you.

]]> By: Bob http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/your-fico-score-can-save-you-thousands-of-dollars-in-5-minutes/#comment-22112 Bob Thu, 14 Jun 2007 19:59:56 +0000 http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/your-fico-score-can-save-you-thousands-of-dollars-in-5-minutes#comment-22112 Since this seems to be a true confessions board, I am debt free except for my mortgage, which is fixed at 5.5%. My FICO score is 811. I have an MBA in Finance. Dave Ramsey's advice is generally good, although I feel his obsession with debt has more to do with his past bankruptcy than it does with debt as a weapon. Dave admits that he was over leveraged in investment real estate, which is speculative. That's not the best use of debt. On the other hand, debt can be valuable if it is used to buy appreciating assets where the cost of capital is fixed and the return is reasonably assured. It is not risk free, but some risks make sense. As others have said, it pays to have more than one teacher. It also pays to apply a little common sense. Don't spend more than you have, recognize that debt has a cost attached to it, live within your means, save a percentage of what you make, understand the relationship between risk and return, etc. If so, you'll be fine. Since this seems to be a true confessions board, I am debt free except for my mortgage, which is fixed at 5.5%. My FICO score is 811. I have an MBA in Finance.

Dave Ramsey’s advice is generally good, although I feel his obsession with debt has more to do with his past bankruptcy than it does with debt as a weapon. Dave admits that he was over leveraged in investment real estate, which is speculative. That’s not the best use of debt.

On the other hand, debt can be valuable if it is used to buy appreciating assets where the cost of capital is fixed and the return is reasonably assured. It is not risk free, but some risks make sense.

As others have said, it pays to have more than one teacher. It also pays to apply a little common sense. Don’t spend more than you have, recognize that debt has a cost attached to it, live within your means, save a percentage of what you make, understand the relationship between risk and return, etc. If so, you’ll be fine.

]]> By: John Duncan http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/your-fico-score-can-save-you-thousands-of-dollars-in-5-minutes/#comment-17209 John Duncan Fri, 25 May 2007 13:01:26 +0000 http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/your-fico-score-can-save-you-thousands-of-dollars-in-5-minutes#comment-17209 I have been reading this BLOG and am very familiar with Dave Ramsey. I am a fan of Ramsey. His advice to spend within your limits and avoid debt is fundamentaly sound. I am not religious, so that does not impact my decisions. Having said that I also understand some folks just flat out do not agree with being debt-free for whatever reason. This Blog does give some good advice to managing within the debt system and understanding how it works. The beauty of the internet is we can hear from all sides. I have been reading this BLOG and am very familiar with Dave Ramsey.

I am a fan of Ramsey. His advice to spend within your limits and avoid debt is fundamentaly sound. I am not religious, so that does not impact my decisions.

Having said that I also understand some folks just flat out do not agree with being debt-free for whatever reason. This Blog does give some good advice to managing within the debt system and understanding how it works. The beauty of the internet is we can hear from all sides.

]]> By: JasOn B. http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/your-fico-score-can-save-you-thousands-of-dollars-in-5-minutes/#comment-16674 JasOn B. Tue, 22 May 2007 17:24:30 +0000 http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/your-fico-score-can-save-you-thousands-of-dollars-in-5-minutes#comment-16674 That's kind of childish how Dave comes over here and tries to bully you you in front of everybody to pull in more customers...utterly doltish. I am only 21 but my credit score is a 729 right now. I'd like to think I have it because of healthy credit decisions but I just figure out how much I can spend and stick to it. I use my credit card for all my bills because I know almost exactly what they are each month and then 10 days later I pay it off with my checking. This way I earn rewards point s all the time and I have emergency money outside of my savings. I impulse buy occasionally but I save more than enough to cover it without negating my savings for that year. I do need to start investing though maybe after my savings breaks 15K. That’s kind of childish how Dave comes over here and tries to bully you you in front of everybody to pull in more customers…utterly doltish.
I am only 21 but my credit score is a 729 right now. I’d like to think I have it because of healthy credit decisions but I just figure out how much I can spend and stick to it. I use my credit card for all my bills because I know almost exactly what they are each month and then 10 days later I pay it off with my checking. This way I earn rewards point s all the time and I have emergency money outside of my savings. I impulse buy occasionally but I save more than enough to cover it without negating my savings for that year. I do need to start investing though maybe after my savings breaks 15K.

]]> By: Scott http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/your-fico-score-can-save-you-thousands-of-dollars-in-5-minutes/#comment-14993 Scott Sat, 12 May 2007 20:28:39 +0000 http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/your-fico-score-can-save-you-thousands-of-dollars-in-5-minutes#comment-14993 I just got my credit report back, and its low. How can I bring up my score, if I am wanting to buy a house in 6 months? I just got my credit report back, and its low. How can I bring up my score, if I am wanting to buy a house in 6 months?

]]> By: Forrest Gump http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/your-fico-score-can-save-you-thousands-of-dollars-in-5-minutes/#comment-13542 Forrest Gump Mon, 30 Apr 2007 17:54:23 +0000 http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/your-fico-score-can-save-you-thousands-of-dollars-in-5-minutes#comment-13542 What do landlords usually use as an average FICO score to grant leases? I can't find any information on this -- I know each has their own criteria, but there must be some standards out there. What do landlords usually use as an average FICO score to grant leases? I can’t find any information on this — I know each has their own criteria, but there must be some standards out there.

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