Amount of debt vs. amount of credit??
Date: Fri, 01/07/2011 - 21:35
[SIZE=3]So by the end of last year, most of the credit cards are maxed or close to it. I've got a gas card, a Visa, a Mastercard, and a couple of small store cards for my wife. We went a bit overboard on those early last year thinking that we were OK despite the financial and economic situations out there. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]Anyway, we also re-financed our house and was able to get 4.25% on a new 30 yr. fixed. Now that we've lowered our house payment, we've got some extra $$ to put towards the cards to bring them down. [/SIZE]
Long story short, one of our cards cut the credit limit twice on us last year alone. That's why we're maxed on one of them. I've been looking around for another card to have as a safety net or back up for necessities and clothes for the kids to get us through while we pay the bigger ones off. But we kept getting turned down. I hear it's because we are too close to our credit lines. They say that if you can increase your credit lines, but keep your balances under a certain percentage of the total lines you have, your score will improve and you can get better credit rates and such. Is that a fact?
One place we did find online is enchanted attire. It didn't take long to sign up and we actually got approved, which was cool. Not a lot, but they basically gave us close to a $1000 credit line and we can use it to buy some cool clothes and things from their site. As long as we keep it paid up on time, they report positively. If we miss one though, it hurts us. So at least this extended out total credit line a bit and dropped our percentage of debt.
I've seen the score start ticking up over the past couple of months. So am I on the right track and do any of you know about this place or other ones like it out there? Thanks all.:rolleyes:
As long as you make the payments on time, your credit score will
As long as you make the payments on time, your credit score will gradually increase. So, I think you are on the right track. Use your credit cards responsibly and try to remain within your credit limit. Don't exhaust your credit limits. Use the extra money towards payment of debts.
I don't understand the logic. If you pay down some of the cards
I don't understand the logic. If you pay down some of the cards you already have, your debt to income ratio will go down and your score should go up a bit. You said you received extra money from the refinance, correct? Why are you applying for more credit to "buy cool new clothes" rather than using the money to pay off (or at least pay down) your current cards? Seems to me you're getting yourself further into debt rather than taking the opportunity to get yourself out of debt.
If you're carrying a balance (especially a high one) on a gas card and/or department store cards, you're killing yourself with interest. You need to pay those things off and then not charge them back up again. Then you'll have extra money each month to pay toward your MC and Visa cards until they are also paid off. THEN, you can build an emergency fund so you won't have to rely on credit cards for emergencies and finally, you can start putting some money into savings.
Funny, references to enchanted attire to rebuild credit have sud
Funny, references to enchanted attire to rebuild credit have suddenly appeared on a bunch of website in the last couple of weeks. Sounds like spammy business.
I can vouch for you speeddater. I too am familiar with Enchante
I can vouch for you speeddater. I too am familiar with Enchanted Attire and I've kept a good credit account with them now for almost a year. I charge an item per month, then pay off on time, and my score is up 35 points and nothing else is different on my credit report. It's up because of that account.
I don't completely agree with Debt Samaritan over "not relying on credit cards" etc. because from what I've been told, consistent use of credit builds good history. And you always have to have some credit to work with to get a home loan or a car loan, etc. I'd love to live on cash and cash alone, but even with some cash, some things in life demand credit.
As for watchdogg, it would seem that you are spam, as I clicked on your profile and get an invalid user. LOL if you want to see spam, check my inbox for all the junk out there like work from home and those lotteries from Nigeria! Oh if those were real, none of us would be on here worrying about credit advice eh?
Keep it up speed.
Yes, John G, call me spam, but I'm not the one posting on lots o
Yes, John G, call me spam, but I'm not the one posting on lots of credit boards, and changing my story over and over again. And that's pretty funny, calling me a spammer because I am not registered with this site, even though your own user name is not registered! We both live in glass houses, yet you're the stone thrower.
One of speeddater's problems is that his stories, sometimes posted under the name PhoenixMan, with both speeddater and PhoenixMan appearing in the same post, are never the same. They keep changing. If his story is true, why lie?
Does it feel good paying high prices for no-name clothes, $20 a month to keep the account open, and $195 to apply?
Again, I repeat "Protecting your credit score while having that
Again, I repeat "Protecting your credit score while having that much debt is like watering your grass while your house is on fire". You are missing the lesson.
Get rid of all cards and cc debt and your score will recover. Your debt to income ratio will be more in line and that alone will help. We did keep a gas card that we paid off every month and have been told that that helped our recovery. But, honestly, I wouldn't recommend it.
If you find yourself on this site, you probably shouldn't have cards at all! I know we will never have another one!
