What's your credit score? Do you monitor?

[Jernik]

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

And here I was pretty happy with 801. There always has to be that 1 guy... out:

:thumb: :cheers:

 

[AKmoney]

Too many data breaches: This year I was part of the T-Mobile and Scottrade hacks. As insurance against identity theft I froze my credit at the Big Three credit bureaus. They extort about $10/each from you to do this and they charge you another $10 if you want to un-freeze it for a legitimate purpose (e.g. apply for a loan, lease a car, etc) but it helps me sleep better at night.

 

[A.Wilson013]

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

You must have something else going on as well, because that alone won't get you an 850.

And here I was pretty happy with 801. There always has to be that 1 guy... out:

:thumb: :cheers:

With 801 you'll likely (almost positively) get the same rates as someone with an 850.

An 850 is nearly impossible unless you're fairly up there in years, have borrowed very little, and payed everything off on time. You'll typically need to have open student loans, auto loans, home loans, and an active credit card in order to achieve an 850 and once ANY of those closes. And the longevity of those accounts is HUGELY important.

If you're old enough, it can be possible with just a mortgage and a credit card, but those people are outliers.

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.

That's a cool card- we looked at it but were told you couldn't redeem your points for travel. Since that's all we use ours for it was a deal breaker.

 

[CXS]

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

IIRC 850 is perfect, right? I'm at 837 but like I said previously I'm an old guy.

Debt free with no mortgage and one credit card that we use for everthing.

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.

$99/year was what Chase wanted for the Saphire after the first year which was free. It's really intended for international travel from what I was told. Their Freedom doesn't have any fee and the cash back is nice.

Too many data breaches: This year I was part of the T-Mobile and Scottrade hacks. As insurance against identity theft I froze my credit at the Big Three credit bureaus. They extort about $10/each from you to do this and they charge you another $10 if you want to un-freeze it for a legitimate purpose (e.g. apply for a loan, lease a car, etc) but it helps me sleep better at night.

Not everyone has to pay the $10 fee to freeze. Colorado has a law that requires it be free. Still have the unfreeze fee but I can't see any need to give access to anyone.

 

[Thai]

BTW, someone told me that checking your credit score frequently can raise red flags from IRS or something like that. True?

 

[9494runner]

As a mortgage loan coordinator - certain checks register as either soft or hard hits. Hard hits pull all 3 credit bureaus. These effect your credit anywhere between 5 and 15 points a pull for hard hits. They hit harder if you have more inquiries from the same service, like a Mortgage.

FYI you should not have your credit pulled ever unless authorized by you. They are breaking the law. But some financial instatutions like credit unions will periodically do a soft hit. This is authorized in their terms of service for your account.

Bottom line DO NOT close accounts with a 0 balance. That will influence your credit score. If you close enough accounts and your credit available amount drops significantly, this will have a very negative impact on your credit score.

And checking your credit does not affect the IRS.

770 and I'm 25

My score is shown on my discover statements and if I really cared I could pull a full report on myself!:fish:

Cheers

Edit - finally got a real amex card.... I feel like I should buy a jet (;

The IRS and credit bureaus are sort of dumb... youd be surprised on how many borrowers we have where they apparently opened a mortgage at the age of 12.... that's always a fun convo with borrowers and credit agencies

 

[ThorInc]

BTW, someone told me that checking your credit score frequently can raise red flags from IRS or something like that. True?

Not so sure about the IRS, etc. but you do loose a few points every time it's checked as the assumption is that someone is checking you credit history to lend or offer credit.

 

[jasonochs25]

Paying on time is the biggest thing you can do. Also, some say 850 is the highest, others say 900 is possible...heres the thing...there are 3 credit bereaus and they all use different matrixes to figure a persons score.

a word of advice...dont stress or dwell on your score. if its over 750-780, you wont have ANY problem buying anything you truly need. You can drive yourself mad trying to acheive the "perfect"credit rating, only to find out that another agency see you as a little lower. Just pay on time! also, credit history and amount of accounts open! I have 21 accounts open but a lower credit history due to a divorce. Had I not taken my ex off, i's have 14 years of history, but...all is well and my number is climbing. PAY ON TIME!!!

 

[jasonochs25]

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.

congrats Bijan, on at least looking at your score! Thats the first step! you sound like youre in good shape and off to a GREAT start!

 

[CXS]

you do loose a few points every time it's checked as the assumption is that someone is checking you credit history to lend or offer credit.

Capital One checked my credit every Monday and sent me a couple card offers every week. I don't know if it hurt or not but since I froze my credit that crap stopped. I also noticed the freeze drastically reduced the junk mail I get since all loan/credit offers have stopped.

 

[CXS]

Paying on time is the biggest thing you can do. Also, some say 850 is the highest, others say 900 is possible...heres the thing...there are 3 credit bereaus and they all use different matrixes to figure a persons score.

a word of advice...dont stress or dwell on your score. if its over 750-780, you wont have ANY problem buying anything you truly need. You can drive yourself mad trying to acheive the "perfect"credit rating, only to find out that another agency see you as a little lower. Just pay on time! also, credit history and amount of accounts open! I have 21 accounts open but a lower credit history due to a divorce. Had I not taken my ex off, i's have 14 years of history, but...all is well and my number is climbing. PAY ON TIME!!!

Good point, Credit Karma shows the highest at 850. Paying on time is the key - I had my kids get their first credit card at 18, told them to charge stuff they would have bought with cash and pay it off every month. They both had great ratings doing just that. Pretty simple process - it's just too easy for some people to charge stuff because thry have credit - those folks get in to trouble.

We live in a culture of instant gratification that encourages people to use credit foolishly.

 

[jasonochs25]

seems like (if you all are being honest) most of us are doing pretty good! remember to sock some extra money away...either 401k or savings, OR BOTH!!!

Stay on top of things and don't ignore problems. That only makes things worse!!! NO matter how bad things seem to be DON"T IGNORE PROBLEMS OR ISSUES!!!!

Good luck to all! but is seems that most of us have a handle on things CONGRATS!!!!

 

[cashmoney]

Credit is like anything else in the world. Moderation is the key. Use it excessively and you get in trouble. Don't use it at all and you don't enjoy what comes with it.

 

[Bijan]

congrats Bijan, on at least looking at your score! Thats the first step! you sound like youre in good shape and off to a GREAT start!

Can't tell if you're serious or sarcastic, but thank you. :mod:

 

[Bijan]

We live in a culture of instant gratification that encourages people to use credit foolishly.

HOW, WHY, and what is this? Why can we see the issue and not change it?

This country was built on buying / spending / building things, yea? Its such a mind****.

 

[cashmoney]

It was built by doing it intelligently. Not buying big screen tv's and $1000 speaker systems just to keep up with the Jones'. That's where credit gets people in trouble. My philosophy with credit is that if you don't have the money in the bank to pay cash for it then you probably shouldn't put it on a credit card. Exception being a large purchase like a house or a car. But if you can pay cash for those you are probably better off doing that than financing it anyways.

 

[99Runnr]

Credit comes and goes in the blink of an eye.

I had a 790 for years (I'm 27 now).

Earlier this year I wrecked and totaled my 2015 Tacoma without insurance. Medical bills into collections, credit score is DESTROYED. Nothing you can do about it, $22k in medical bills in under 2 hours with 0 follow up visits.

Best thing that happened to me though. I abused mine for stupid shit for YEARS. Cars, quads, trucks, stereo's, guns, all the stuff said here. Biggest life lesson learned, when you can't spoil yourself anymore, things change REAL quick.

 

[RandyDaytona]

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!

+1. I do this, too, and people think I'm nuts: "You don't have a debit card?"

Why should I? My CC does the same thing, functions the same way, AND I actually get something back for it (it's a Cabela's visa, so I can buy guns with the points I earn ).

My credit score is (luckily) still over 800. I actually do monitor it, mainly because of data breaches. When OPM (U.S. Office of Personnel Management) got hacked by our pals in China last year, 20+ years' worth of my employment records, background information, and security clearance data was stolen (yay).

But this was only AFTER some genius at the VA lost his or her gov't-issued laptop a few years before and all my military records were lost.

 

[nevada]

been using creditkarma for years, its great.

just checked mine, still just over 800 for each. did some financial maneuvering a few weeks ago that dropped it about 20 points. will be better once that clears up.

 

[Jernik]

+1. I do this, too, and people think I'm nuts: "You don't have a debit card?"

Why should I? My CC does the same thing, functions the same way, AND I actually get something back for it.

I never use a debit card either. If I need cash, I walk into the bank to get it. Plus, if someone steals my CC info from a gas pump, restaurant, etc., they will not have access to the bank accounts I use to pay my bills. I like that separation for public transactions.