Posted on 08/21/2007 1:00:50 PM PDT by the_devils_advocate_666
I just went through the process of getting my wife a new (well, 2006 anyway) car. I had wanted to save enough to pay cash but my old car wasn't going to hold out quite that long. So off to the bank to secure the extra funds. In the process I found out today that my credit score was 819. The loan officer said he'd only seen one higher score. He's young, so maybe it isn't all that great, but...
What does a credit score like 819 do for me? Is there anyway I can leverage this to my advantage in the future? What's the highest possible credit score?
“””How can child support, on an almost 18 yr old, be retroactive? You must have had a terrible attorney”””
In the State of Florida, and I’m assuming elsewhere, child support laws are set up strongly to favor custodial parents. Did I think this was possible? Did my attorney think this was possible? NO! The female judge sure thought it was possible, and she thought it was just.
Translation: Act your wage.
I like your attitude--perhaps because it is not very different from my own.
As concerning your desire to pay off your mortgage, I would strongly suggest that you procure an amortization schedule. When we refinanced our condo in the early 1990s, a co-worker of my wife offered us this tip. And it worked. Big time!
At the time of our re-fi, we owed about $40,000. By making an extra principal-only payment each month (NOTE: this is a separate transaction; it must NOT be conflated with the regular monthly payment), we saved over $19,000. Not bad, since that is about half of the beginning balance.
In the beginning, we were able to retire an entire monthly payment for around $5. (No, that is not a joke!) Although the amount of principal rises gradually, it does so at the rate of only about a dollar or two per month--a negligible amount.
I truly hope you will try this (assuming, of course, that the terms of your mortgage do not authorize the lien-holder to penalize you for making pre-payments). It saved us a real bundle of money--as well as retiring our final debt.
(NOTE: Even if you itemize when you do your taxes, and take the home-mortgage deduction, that does not come anywhere close to saving you the kind of money that this will.)
Saw mine for the first time as part of an identity-theft program (reputable company).
It’s probably not worth worrying about small differences. I saw some interesting explanations for my score (around 800).
First, I have a couple of credit cards that I usually don’t use (keep them as a “safety” back-up). It turns out that will lower a score by some (small) amount.
Also, one credit-reporting organization said I had a balance of about $2,000 on a card, which also was supposedly a negative. Turns out I always pay off the card I use monthly
so it was somewhat of a surprise (if the report had been done one week later the balance would have been zero!).
Finally, big purchases (such as a car) are always paid in cash, so the credit-reporting organization has no info to make an estimate (sounds almost like what’s been happening in the sub-prime mortgage market?).
I suspect the person who said 720 or above is good has it right.
Some credit issuers will allow an individual to open multiple cards. Others won't. Go figure.
Plus, the 30-40 figure included business cards, which (apparently) generally have higher limits than individual cards.
Apparently it gives you an excuse to post a vanity telling us all about your credit score.
"So who can top my 819?"
Very telling comment. Had you just been interested in what your credit score really could do for you, you could have asked your banker or CPA, or you could have posted a one line vanity asking what a credit score of 819 was worth. But instead you give us the whole story and then challenge everyone else to try and top yours.
Just my $0.02, and worth exactly what you paid for it. ;-)
First off, 780s is nothing to sneeze at and more than “good enough” as 720 is about the highest most lenders expect - anything higher is gravy.
Secondly, if you have “too little” credit, it can impact your score negatively, since there’s less ‘track record’ to go off of.
Keeping your credit card balances at 1% to 9% of total limits, with no more than 4 cards with balances, is the best.
gap coverage is best gotten thru your auto insurance agency. you can take it off at anytime that way. if you get it thru the dealer, they charge you for coverage for the full term up front, then add it onto the loan.
as far as financing.. some of us feel greater need to have a reliable vehicle. if it were just for me, i’d buy a beater for cash, but having wife and kids, i feel more comfortable with a car with a warranty, that i know is going to start every time i stick my key in it.
Actually, it’s better to borrow the million WHEN you have a million - so as to keep the million earning money for you in interest or investments.
;-)
My Brother in law went to a bank to get a car loan, after checking his fico score they asked for the calender back and check that they got all their pens.
Funny how they never manage to make a child support decrease retroactive to the day you lost your job...
It's usually about $200 for the life of the loan.
For my family, it's important because the cars we buy are good quality but suffer from rapid depreciation (think Mitsubishi or Hyundai here).
It may not have made a difference. Each creditor (credit card company, mortgage lender, etc) reports once a month, on the same day. What you need to do is find out what day of the month that credit card reports, and pay it all off but 1% of the limit. Then pull credit a couple days later. Then feel free to pay the remainder off.
Reason is that the best balance is to use the card, but not too much - in other words, use between 1% and 9% of your available credit.
However, at your score, who really cares? You're far above 720.
LOL!!!
Amen.
For more on this I recommend the 1996 bestseller, The Millionaire Next Door, which points out that most American millionaires are not ultra-high earners; rather, most are ordinary Americans with unremarkable lifestyles, who simply live way beneath their means, and save the difference.
Thanks, it does make sense after all.
I believe part of the score is payment history. No history, no score.
does gap availability vary by state? i had gap when i went thru progressive.
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