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Does anyone know if it makes a difference how you carry your credit card debt? I have heard that lenders do not like to see you carry over 50% of your limit. I tend to shift all mine to the card with the lowest rate so I have one that is almost maxed out and a couple others with little or no balance.
Freakshow
09-01-06, 11:47 AM
Funny. I had to take a class on credit and this came up.
They have different tiers...25% and under...50 and under 75 and under....
Anything over 75% is considered maxed out.
It's the TOTAL amount available you need to worry about. Don't close unused cards. In the past I heard that you shouldn't have too much available credit. Well...if you owe 10,000 in credit cards, but have 100,000 available it looks much better than owing 10,000 with 15,000 available.
So let's say I have a pair of cards and the two seem like they want to fight over how much they let me have, even though I rarely charge anything...maybe once a month. I have a balance that my wife accrued that I have at 2% for about 6 more month, on one card. Anyway, these guys tend to each bump me up about $1500 each year. Make them stop? Let it continue?
Freakshow
09-01-06, 01:01 PM
Let it continue.
slydevl
09-01-06, 01:12 PM
So let's say I have a pair of cards and the two seem like they want to fight over how much they let me have, even though I rarely charge anything...maybe once a month. I have a balance that my wife accrued that I have at 2% for about 6 more month, on one card. Anyway, these guys tend to each bump me up about $1500 each year. Make them stop? Let it continue?
Hell ask for even more. Your total amount of credit outstanding only hurts if you are above that threshhold Freak was discussing. It also hurts if you take out a whole lot of credit in a relatively short period of time, even if you don't use it because they haven't had time to access your responsibility with that added credit.
Say you have three cards with ten thousand dollars available on each one. Say you also have $7500 of debt. If one card offers a better rate should you put it all on that card? You would have one card at 75% and two at 0%. Does it even matter, will they just lump all your cards together when they analyze your credit and say you have $7500 outstanding from your $30k capacity?
QueenCityHillbilly
09-01-06, 02:47 PM
What if you don't have a credit card?
What if you don't have a credit card?
Be thankful
slydevl
09-01-06, 02:53 PM
Say you have three cards with ten thousand dollars available on each one. Say you also have $7500 of debt. If one card offers a better rate should you put it all on that card? You would have one card at 75% and two at 0%. Does it even matter, will they just lump all your cards together when they analyze your credit and say you have $7500 outstanding from your $30k capacity?
Having one close to max will reflect negatively even though you have more total credit. Spreading out the debt will look better. However, don't put too much stock in your score. If moving it all to a lower rate helps you pay it off faster then do it. Having trouble getting more credit when you have that much debt wouldn't be a bad thing.
Having one close to max will reflect negatively even though you have more total credit. Spreading out the debt will look better. However, don't put too much stock in your score. If moving it all to a lower rate helps you pay it off faster then do it. Having trouble getting more credit when you have that much debt wouldn't be a bad thing.
Good point the only reason I care about my credit score is that I may be looking to sell my house and buy another in the next year or so.
Does anyone know if it makes a difference how you carry your credit card debt? I have heard that lenders do not like to see you carry over 50% of your limit. I tend to shift all mine to the card with the lowest rate so I have one that is almost maxed out and a couple others with little or no balance.
Try having a 0 balance and you won't have to worry.
Try having a 0 balance and you won't have to worry.
Gee thanks I had not thought of that.
WilliamJ
09-02-06, 07:34 AM
What if you don't have a credit card?get one and use it frugally. it was the fastest way i rebuilt mt credit.
thanks for info on the limit usage.
Freakshow
09-02-06, 06:11 PM
What if you don't have a credit card?
Get one right now. Use it occasionally so it reports. Maybe even keep a SMALL balance on it.
And Sly is exactly right. Having a bunch of credit available is good. But you don't want to have a bunch of NEW credit available. OLD credit rules...New does not.
I'll try to find some of the crap from my class and scan it in...
What if you don't have a credit card?
When my wife first got here she opened up one of those credit cards where they require you place a deposit for the credit limit. She did that for about a year, never missed a payment, and then that deposit was refunded to her. It's a good way to get started.
Southern_Yankee
09-03-06, 11:01 AM
When my wife first got here she opened up one of those credit cards....
did she come from outer space?
did she come from outer space?
Sometimes I think so, but, no, she did come from another country hence the not having a credit history.
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