Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Baby steps toward my future house
My approach for this endeavor might seem backwards. I applied for a credit card yesterday at the credit union where I'll eventually apply for a mortgage (it's where I do all my banking at the moment). They approved me within minutes and asked if I wanted the paperwork e-mailed to me or if I wanted to visit a branch to sign the application. Since there were other questions I wanted to ask, I went to the closest branch this morning and signed. when they gave me the paperwork they included a copy of my FICO score. It's poor, but I'm not too surprised. The rep mentioned that it's mostly that low because I don't have much unsecured credit available ($600). She recommended that I revisit them in 6-8 months and ask that they raise my credit limit, and maintain my balances at 30% across the cards. My instinct would be to pay them off and keep them at zero, but if I need to play the system for a year or two, I will. So the new goal is to get them all down to 30% and keep them there. I was planning on cancelling the Orchard (now Capital One) card, but now I'll keep it for at least another year.
Here's a picture of the Hatteras Lighthouse. It doesn't make up for the otherwise boring post, but you deserve some eyecandy for reading this far.
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I think she meant keep them *below* 30%. You don't want to keep it at zero, because that might indicate that you don't need or care to use credit, but I don't believe you need to keep it at 30% (that might cost you a lot in interest.) You could call and ask for clarification - they don't mind answering questions like that. But from all I know about credit, that's the number *under* which they like to see your credit utilized.
ReplyDeleteI agree with 444 - I didn't think it really worked that way though some things are very different in the U.S. as opposed to Canada.
ReplyDeleteThat makes much more sense to me. Thanks! I'll confirm with Marissa at my CU when I make a deposit later this week.
ReplyDeleteEven if you charge on it but pay it off monthly, that really helps your credit. I don't think you should keep a balance if you don't want to. I also see people's credit reports for a living and offer advice. The people with the best credit do use their cards but pay them off monthly.
ReplyDeleteA year can mean a huge difference in your credit score, just keep up the good work. Last year we could not have gotten a dime and now we can sign for money on just our good name.
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