Fico scores??

[mommy4ever]

So today, I decided to pull a credit report.

Happy to say I have no extra cards being used in my name. So no stolen identity. This is good..lol.

I have a question about FICO. I have a score in the 700's. I'll be paying off several things in the next couple months. That should increase it right?

On the UP side of things. I have no late payments, no delinquencies, no judgements! So I guess the ONLY thing to do is pay things off? Right?

[FrugalMomof3]

Yep, I am like you in the mid 700's, my problem is my credit is not long enough, meaning I've only had it for about 8 years and most people have it for 15+ years.... I was also told that because I DONT use my credit cards that it lowers my score, get that huh? So I charged something the other day for $20 and I am about to make a payment for $20 once it shows up as a balance owed.

Keep paying everything off and ontime, it helps tremendously. oh and BTW that's an awesome score!

[mommy4ever]

hehe. I guess. THe oldest thing on my history is my student loan. 1996. Other than that I didn't get a cc until 2001. So I guess paying off will help tremendously, as will time.

[lgw]

Having debts paid of early will go a long way with raising your FICO score. But don't close down paid-off CCs or other loans, such as a LOC. This will hamper your score. DH and I have FICO scores in the 800s.

[PB&J]

We have paid off a bunch of accounts early this year and it made my credit score go up 75 points since January.

[Telephus44]

The other thing to remember too, is that you don't need to have the highest FICO score ever. My biggest problem is also that my credit history is too short (10 years). Mine is in the high 700's. If you go to apply for a loan or whatever, it won't make much if any difference between 750 and 780 and 800. I like to think back to school, when the difference between and A minus and an A plus is there, but either way it's still a good grade and shows what a good student you are. You don't need to knock yourself out to be perfect.

[Buckeye5]

I guess I should my credit record, we have done that in awhile. Thanks for the reminder.

[zazenist]

I just paid off a loan in January, and that gave a big boost to my FICO score. When I log in online to one of my credit card accounts, it not only shows you your score, but tells you why it is what it is. If it's gone up or down, they tell you why. Paying more than the minimum due on revolving debt always improves your rating, especially if you do it regularly. This has helped me tremendously. And, as someone else pointed out, so does actually using your cards, provided that you pay them off every month. And I agree about not sweating it to get a super-duper high score... From what I've read, 740-750 is really where you need to be to qualify for the best rates on loans, mortgages, etc. Anything else is just gravy, insurance maybe, but not a necessity.

[Spark]

Because of this thread, I checked ours. I'm a little annoyed. We filed for bankruptcy several years ago but kept our vehicle loans and mortgage. Were never late. We paid off both cars early and should be sitting pretty but our FICO has only gone up 9 pts in the last year. We don't have CCs because the only ones offered to us have annual fees and we aren't going to pay anyone for the privilege. And CCs are what got us into trouble in the first place. Apparently both vehicles and the mortgage are listed as being written off in the bankruptcy so they are adverse accounts. I realize filing bankruptcy is a credit smashing move but apparently nothing we've done since has made any difference. I have friends who have new cars and tons of CCs again after filing but we have to pay cash upfront to a frozen food company because we can't get credit with them. I filed disputes but who knows if that will do anything. FICO is the law of this credit land.

[IntlMom]

how are you pulling your credit reports?

[IntlMom]

never mind, I found it. Mid 800's. Thanks for prompting me to check to make sure everything is as it should be!