My Credit Score is Better Than Yours (VANITY)

me | 8/21/07 | me

[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?

[CSM]

You should check this link out. It is a site where a guy scams the scammers.

http://www.quatloos.com/brad-c/directory01.htm

[savedbygrace]

My Credit Score is Better Than Yours

My credit score is usually bigger than that, but I just got out of the credit pool.

Shrinkage!

[Ignatz]

I see what your saying. I guess for me it's a safety factor.
"The debtor is slave to the lender". My preference in most cases is to NOT be in debt, and use my income to build my own wealth rather than use my income to make payments to build someone else's wealth. Should I (God forbid) become unemployed for whatever reason, I'd still have my "possessions" and my investments to see me through, instead of trying to satisfy debtors.
Plus, paying cash on large purchases typically strengthens my negotiating position re: the purchase price.

[Ignatz]

If I said “interest” I misspoke. I should have said
“return on investments”. A historical ook at the stock market shows that it has averaged a 10% yearly growth. That’s why investing in the market long term is safer than day-trading.

[bootless]

First, congratulations on being a responsible consumer. I’ve heard from an auto loan officer on another forum who had seen an 840 or 845. 850 is as high as it goes.

Beyond bragging rights, once you’re in the 800s, there is no appreciable difference in what you can get in terms of rates, terms, limits, etc. The common factors in super-prime scores are: a long credit history (30-plus years), long average age of accounts, very low utilization, very low balances, presence of one or more real estate accounts, no inquiries and of course, no derogatories at all.

Rock on!

[bootless]

Every time your credit is checked, even if you check it yourself, your point rating will drop.

Only partly true - when you check your own credit, there is absolutely no effect on your score.

Even when another company does a "soft" inquiry on you, for account reviews or promotional inquiries, there is still no effect. The only inquiries that make any difference are "hard" inquiries, which happens when you actively apply for credit. Nowadays, when you open a bank account, they may also check your credit in that way as well, which also counts.

[papasmurf]

yes, it is. het Rockin', what's your opinion of this: Prosper

I've done pretty good with it, for a micro-mini investment, that is. :)

[rabscuttle385]

Prosper seems like an interesting concept, but...it's about as risky as handing over money to the hedge funds.

You're not really loaning money to anyone, at least, not directly.

What you are doing is loaning money to Prosper, along with other users. The money is pooled and then used to fund a loan that Prosper originates for a borrower member. Then, Prosper gets its fee.

Prosper's only incentive to ensure that the loans are good is that if a large number of loans go default, their reputation suffers.

They are like a bank, except without FDIC deposit insurance or significant regulation and scrutiny from the government.

Any other financial institution folks, feel free to correct me.

[television is just wrong]

I don’t brag about my credit score, some illegal alien is going to make an effort to steal my identity.

[pierstroll]

Don’t they want a credit card up front and you can switch to a debit for payment when you return the car?

[armymarinemom]

I don’t know my credit score but I do know I’m sick of getting all of those card offers every single day.

[OKIEDOC]

Have rented a truck from Penske several times this year on my former Bank America debit card.

There are several markets around who treat my purchases as credit instead of debit.

[pierstroll]

Most places will if it’s VISA or MC on the card. This is the first rental place I’ve heard of. Of course I’m not a Penske guy. Thanx for the info.

[wardaddy]

That’s why investing in the market long term is safer than day-trading

you can say that again....I used to daytrade....in 99 I lost 30K on E-Loan on 2000 shares on the IPO pop when it cliff dove at the day's high and my computer froze...lol

I shut her down and never day traded again...I had a nice set up....6 monitors...direct line feed .....the TNT works...still got whacked

the makers at GSCO and LEHM must have laughed their ECN asses off....all the sheep got slaughtered

[Ben Mugged]

I stand corrected.

[papasmurf]

Well, I’m not stock market savvy, that’s why I leave my stuff pretty alone. :)

I will say this, though; I have invested $2500.00 in 5 groups at $500.00 each. The groups I’m in focus mostly on “second chancers”. There have been some losses, but in almost 2 full years, I’m $831.00 to the plus side.

The money is nice, but more importantly to me, is that it’s helping people help themselves. I like that. :O)

[rabscuttle385]

Well, I’m not stock market savvy, that’s why I leave my stuff pretty alone. :)

Neither am I; I deal with computers. That's why I leave the investing to my dad, and whatever money isn't in play is on deposit at a well-known FDIC-insured national bank or NCUA-insured credit union.

[pathudock]

900 is the MAX for the Consumer Model. However, that model is practically useless compared to the FICO score, which can (theoretically) be a maximum of 850.

The report you saw that was an 849...

Was this based on the FICO model?

What kind of Tradelines was the report composed of?

Thanks