Joe Perez

iTrader: (8)

Also, bear in mind that there is a difference between a credit report and a credit score.

The credit report is a line-by-line rundown of every loan, credit card, etc., you have ever had, a breakdown of whether you made all the payments on time, how much of a balance you carried, etc. This is all just plain ole' factual information, and is easy to check for errors. In other words, if they claim that you defaulted on a home mortgage in Arizona in 2008, and you've never even been to Arizona, that's a reporting error that can be corrected.

The score itself is a single number which is computed by some secret formula which we mortals are not privy to. In fact, each of the three major credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian, Trans-Union) have a different method for computing it, and while they usually produce results which are close to one another, your credit score can be expected to vary slightly from one to the next.

A typical credit report (eg: the sort obtainable here) does not include the credit score. The companies want to charge you money to see that.

Braineack

iTrader: (62)

Whats funny is when your lender checks it, then calls you 2 months later and wants to know who looked at your credit score and why...

Faeflora

iTrader: (2)

I bet my credit limit on my cards is greater than what most people here make in a year. But I do pay them off in full every month. 1% cashback + $X000 of monthly charges = winning!!!

My credit score did not budge above 750 for years. Then it pooped down to 700 cus I forget to pay a stupid verizon phone bill and it went to collections in 2006. I now have a car loan with $2000 left and hopefully, with that third type of debt my score can get nice and high.



Bryce, come to DC. You can stay with me and sleep on my couch and we can snuggle. I will take you out with my harem of lawyers, strippers, doctors, and burlesque dancers and we will cure you of your woes.

viperormiata

iTrader: (24)

I've never had a credit card. I started realizing recently that this is a bad thing.

shuiend

iTrader: (24)

It can be a good or bad thing, depending on how you use it.

mgeoffriau

iTrader: (7)

I got my first credit card a couple years ago. I got it completely on a whim...I was purchasing a couple hundred dollars worth of clothes and they were offering something like 40% off your purchase if you signed up. Figured it was worth it to take 10 minutes to sign up and then another 10 minutes to cancel.

Never bothered to cancel it (which is I'm sure what they are planning on). It has no annual fee, so I figure it's not hurting anything. I've used it maybe 2 times to make purchases when slickdeals posted some ridiculous deal I couldn't pass up, but I wanted to spread the payment out over a couple weeks. I've never carried a balance over from one billing cycle to the next.

viperormiata

iTrader: (24)

I'm extremely frugal and smart about money spending. I've never needed a credit card. Probably why I don't have one. But now, I'm starting to realize that I should be getting one just to build up some credit. I'm sure I can have Brain style scores with my jewness.

Scrappy Jack

iTrader: (2)

One could argue that you might not be as smart about money as you think if you've never had a credit card. Even something as basic as others have discussed (get a low limit card, charge some basics, pay off every month, increase limit, rinse, repeat) should be beneficial for down the road should you want to look at buying a home or financing a car at favorable rates.

Carrying zero debt is not always the smartest option. It can be a smart option, but not always the smartest.


We even put car down payments on the credit card. It's like knocking a couple of hundred dollars extra off the purchase price (via cashback from the card).

Faeflora

iTrader: (2)

Yah

for non-plebes credit cards are great for

rental car insurance
trip protection
extended warranties
SCAM/FRAUD PROTECTION
CASH BACK
building your credit score
dicks

dk wolf

So I found out I have a couple "outstanding" little bullets on my credit report.

I have one warrant for my arrest for not paying a traffic ticket in Las Vegas 3 years ago (that I don't really remember getting).

I have a bill for my car insurance (that I don't use anymore... since you know.. japan) that has $70 left, and hasn't had a payment since I've been out here.

I have one credit card that frequently passed the 30% threshold.. and I think I'm gonna cut that card up once I pay it off and open a securities credit card.

I also have one checking account with wells fargo with outstanding fees (I don't even use it anymore, I have like 50 bucks in it) and yeah..


soooo... my debt might be in total of 600 dollars (big whoop, wanna fight about it?) but my credit score got blitzkrieged like yo mama's butthole on wedding night.

y8s

iTrader: (8)

worrying about your utilized debt ratio when you have outstanding anything is like worrying about polishing the scratches out of a totaled car.

Aside: I bought new windows for my house on a credit card. there was a triple points promotion going on at the time. WINNAR.

dk wolf

Yeah.. I figured.

Selling some excess parts to come out clean.


Can we no longer talk about finances? I'm over it... and it depresses me.
Can we talk about killing people now?

Bryce

iTrader: (24)

Ahh. I figured when I got a free credit report I would see my credit score. That's lame.

Might take you up on that offer one day.

sixshooter

iTrader: (12)

It's not ok to cut up your card. You want to have a little activity on it each year or it will go dormant and hurt your available credit ratio. You also shouldn't close the account for the same reason.

I have one card that is only used for the monthly home burglar alarm billing and that keeps the account active. I'm no baller but having six figures of available credit and not using any of it is a pretty calming security blanket. It isn't money in the bank or anything, but it makes you feel like you could deal with a short term emergency if one arose without tapping into the 401k.

flying_solo

iTrader: (5)

Yeah, don't kill off a card you have had for 15 years with a $30k limit just because you got pissed off with Citibank for being idiots.

rleete

iTrader: (21)

Bah. If your credit score can't take a hit like that once in a while, it doen't mean much.

I cancelled a Discover card I had for years. Reason was, my wife had a different card, and she had everything setup online to pay bills with it. So I cancelled mine, and she got me a second card on her account, but it had my name on it. Discover called me for weeks afterwards begging me to "come back". I HAVE a discover card, you morons. I'd even give them the account number, but they still kept calling.

I used to get many more offers when I was single. I even got one in my cat's name once, so I accepted it as a joke. Killa Leete had a gold visa with a $5k limit! I finally cancelled it after he died. Wish I'd kept the card.

Joe Perez

iTrader: (8)

Dare I ask whether the name "Killa" showed up on your credit report as a result?

viperormiata

iTrader: (24)

Unfortunately this is what I am beginning to understand. I started looking into different CC's and reading a few how-to guides on starting a line of credit.

Thanks, Min.

Faeflora

iTrader: (2)

I also have friends with a lot of drugs. I do not partake myself, but I have seen that a highly effective way to deal with a painful life event and shove it way back far out of your conscious mind is to create a problem much greater than the original problem you were dealing with. Drugs are good for this.



WAIT

whats a 401k?

rleete

iTrader: (21)

Nope. Card offer was addressed to Killa Leete. No idea where they got the name. I just signed on the dotted line and they send me a card.

Once, years later, my wife and I came home to find a message on the answering maching. A male voice said, (and I'm paraphrasing) "This message is for Killa. We had a great time yeaterday. Thanks for letting us use your club membership, had my best round ever."

Apparently, my cat had a much more active social life than I ever imagined.