What's your credit score? Do you monitor?

[Bijan]

I recently turned 30 yrs old...and realized one day I may want to buy a house. Or a new car...something that needs a decent credit score.

In high school I was immature and maxxed out a credit card, and threw it in a river thinking they could never trace it back to me... :jaw:

Well come to find out that shit stays w/ you until you take care of it.

I joined creditkarma.com & saw all the negative things affecting my credit. I contacted each company and made deals to pay off what I owed, and to get rid of them reporting to credit bureaus. IIRC my score was a 500. That was in 2013.

I recently got a new salary position, and am able to make a better understanding of budgeting out my life instead of spending more than I make. (Almost still do)

I took out a personal loan, applied for 3 credit cards, and paypal credit...all of which came from help off creditkarma.com - and now my credit score is a 690.

I am very pleased at my progress...and I really like creditkarma.com...it's FREE as shit.

 

[CXS]

I was surprised at how good creditkarma.com is and recommend it to monitir your credit. I had a negative I wasn't aware of until I saw it there. One call got that resolved - the business sent the bill to an address where I lived 5 years before using them - idiots can hurt you.

For people who don't want new loans/credit cards should lock their credit reports so nobody can access them. My credit is excellent but I'm an old guy and my mistakes are long past.

Now I use the site to verify my accounts are inaccessible.

 

[cashmoney]

I started off in 2011 with no credit. Last I checked on credit karma I was in the 720-750 range. I'm a believer in Dave Ramsey but sadly things like insurance rates and jobs and all sorts of other shit take credit into consideration. Not to mention it's damn near impossible to get a house without credit. It's a very easy game to play but be very careful or it'll bite quick.

 

[Drunner97]

I had a mountain of debt from my ex and was floating around 660 until this year. I paid everything off except one credit card (it's under 25% though) and now I'm up to a 771. I'll have the last card completely clear by Feb which should bump me over 800 according to Experian's graphs and charts.

 

[A.Wilson013]

I had a mountain of debt from my ex and was floating around 660 until this year. I paid everything off except one credit card (it's under 25% though) and now I'm up to a 771. I'll have the last card completely clear by Feb which should bump me over 800 according to Experian's graphs and charts.

660 to 771 in a year? That's pretty wild.



Mine is right around 750. The only thing keeping it "down" is my lack of credit history which I started building in 2009 with a Capital One credit card. It's slowly creeping up as I age (26 now..) and purchase more things on credit vs. with cash.

I now buy absolutely EVERYTHING on my credit card and pay it off monthly REGARDLESS of what the balance is.

Anything I finance (vehicles, interest free for a year mattress, etc...) I pay on for a year, then pay it off in full. Other than the car we're looking to purchase soon. I ain't ballin' like that.

 

[TNRunner99]

I'm in the 720-750 range. Had a lot of accounts started since 2012 and bought a house and 3 cars. I've learned that in that range you don't get turned down for anything. Or at least anything I've tried to finance.

 

[Quatre Coureur]

I've paid off 6 cars and almost done with my house. 850 last time I checked. :usa:

 

[cashmoney]

I'm in the 720-750 range. Had a lot of accounts started since 2012 and bought a house and 3 cars. I've learned that in that range you don't get turned down for anything. Or at least anything I've tried to finance.

That's what I've found to. Usually get really good rates to. We got 1.59% on my wife's car earlier this year. 3 years ago I was happy to get 5-6%. I've got 5 credit cards and only 1 I keep a balance on and pay off every month and her car payment. I put all of my weekly expenses on my card to get the points and then pay it off. Stuff racks up fast.

 

[Drunner97]

660 to 771 in a year? That's pretty wild.

I had 3 maxed out credit cards but I've never been late on anything and I have a long credit history so once I got the majority of it cleared it shot up. Actually happened in about 3 months once everything was paid.

 

[Brique]

I started off in 2011 with no credit. Last I checked on credit karma I was in the 720-750 range. I'm a believer in Dave Ramsey but sadly things like insurance rates and jobs and all sorts of other shit take credit into consideration. Not to mention it's damn near impossible to get a house without credit. It's a very easy game to play but be very careful or it'll bite quick.

We're Dave Ramsey people too. Paid off our loans and credit accounts and closed them, completely debt free in October 2009. Two years later we had no credit score whatsoever and had little difficulty buying a house. Churchill mortgage did manual underwriting through wells Fargo. We provided letters of credit (payment history) furnished by our utilities along with two years tax returns to verify income. The process took slightly longer but we were able to get the mortgage through without much trouble and we got the same rate as the A+ credit people were getting at the time: 3.5%.

Do we pay more for insurance? I don't think so. Our rates are pretty damn competitive.

We're self employed, so the employer piece isn't an issue, although I'll say this: I can understand if an employer has a problem with prospects having BAD credit, because that can indicate they don't have thier shit together and might even be a theft risk. But an employer stupid enough to rule someone out because they have the wherewithal to pay for things up front and therefore not have or need a credit score at all is not worth working for. I say that because if that's how they make their hiring decisions, you know that mindset is going to carry over into everything else there.

We did have to put a deposit down on our utilities when we moved in, but given the amount we're ahead by not borrowing in order to inflate our credit score, I guarantee we're way ahead.

I used to work in banking and I used to have a high credit score, and I was broke. Now I imagine our credit score is lowish because we only have the mortgage (which we're working to pay off), but we're able to give more, save more and spend more than we ever have in our entire lives.

I've played the money game both ways, and I'm telling you from experience, the credit dance is a sham.

 

[cashmoney]

I've looked at it from both ways and played it from both ways. Credit is a sham if you don't know what you are doing with it. Took me a long time to realize that. It takes work to make it work. Not saying Dave is wrong and I've paid cash for my house and both of my cars. Just that credit is no different than any other tool in that if you misuse it you'll get hurt but use it like it's meant and you'll benefit from it.

 

[1engineer]

No idea what mine is.

 

[Ol'Blue]

Well I have had a wild ride. After my Ex I was almost in a bankruptcy and save myself from that. Almost for closed on my home but got it sold right before that happened. I was at a 480 or 490. After 4 years and paying off everything and clearing it all up I'm now in the 680 range. My issue is I now only pay with cash of I can help it. So I'm not really building as fast as I want too but it keeps me in check. I really got into Dave Ramsey and it changed the way I look at credit also. I don't need credit when I paid almost 18k in 100's of my last truck. The seller wad happy. I feel it's a balance in today's world. You need to have some liquid assets in the safe in today's world. Unless you are a baller like paul. Rolling like a pimp in the hood in that 1st gen....

Blue

 

[Quatre Coureur]

Dat rite Blue! In a 1st Gen I paid $2500 for back in '00! I borrow the 'ol lady's Skyline when I feel like ballin(whatever that is).

 

[Ol'Blue]

Man I miss our camping trips and the tales and bs... good times brother....

Blue

 

[02SE]

No idea what mine is.

That was me, until my Credit Card company started putting it on my monthly Statement.

It's about as good as it gets, apparently.

No debt, except for Credit Card charges which have always been paid in full, every month.

 

[Unner]

660 to 771 in a year? That's pretty wild.



Mine is right around 750. The only thing keeping it "down" is my lack of credit history which I started building in 2009 with a Capital One credit card. It's slowly creeping up as I age (26 now..) and purchase more things on credit vs. with cash.

I now buy absolutely EVERYTHING on my credit card and pay it off monthly REGARDLESS of what the balance is.

Anything I finance (vehicles, interest free for a year mattress, etc...) I pay on for a year, then pay it off in full. Other than the car we're looking to purchase soon. I ain't ballin' like that.

I put everything on my credit card too. People think that's bad, but they don't realize I pay it in full every month so it only helps my credit score, I don't have to carry cash, I'm not giving anyone access to my bank account directly like a debit card, and I get 1.5-3% cash back depending on the time of year. Also no fees either!

That was me, until my Credit Card company started putting it on my monthly Statement.

It's about as good as it gets, apparently.

No debt, except for Credit Card charges which have always been paid in full, every month.

I'm young so I'm sure mine will still grow, but I haven't checked mine. I probably should, but I haven't done anything to negatively effect it so...

 

[A.Wilson013]

I put everything on my credit card too. People think that's bad, but they don't realize I pay it in full every month so it only helps my credit score, I don't have to carry cash, I'm not giving anyone access to my bank account directly like a debit card, and I get 1.5-3% cash back depending on the time of year. Also no fees either!

We have a Chase Sapphire (from before there was an annual fee) and the rewards give us a free vacation every year. I like that.

 

[ndcent]

740ish. Good enough but not great/excellent.

I would definitely co-sign folks who remarked that credit karma site, used it for years now it's awesome.

 

[Thai]

Guys, check out Citibank Double Cashback card, esp. if you pay your bills in full every month. I have it and it is nice to get back 2% cashback (unlimited) on everything.