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It still counts very heavy in what you pay for auto insurnace, whether you will get the apartment you want to rent and many employers use credit scores as part of background checks for employment so to dismiss having a high score as as only needed for a loan is not correct at all.
From what a credit repair company told me is that when you pay off credit cards and have a 0 balance that hurts your score because once it is 0,there is no more of a record showing you are paying something on credit.
Also,i apparently do not have enough debt. Everytime i check my score the 2 bureaus always recommend i apply for another credit card or try to apply for a mortgage.
I am only paying one thing now,and that is my car lease.
You said decades,and i think that has something to do with it.
I only have 10 years of a credit history.
Your credit card company reports your balance as of your last statement date. There is no distinction whatsoever between a balance from this month's charges (which you then pay in full and thus incur no interest charges) and a balance from previous month's charges (which do incur interest).
Also, lenders like to see 3 kinds of credit accounts: mortgage, installment, and revolving. Not having all 3 does ding your score, but not all that much. Certainly not enough to justify going into debt.
It is completely untrue that having a zero balance means your payment history on that account is gone. I have plenty of zero balance accounts and they all show up with their payment history.
If you want payment history, then charge something once per month (like a tank of gas), and pay in full when the bill comes.
Just pay all of your bills on time and don't get yourself in over your head. Your credit score will be just fine.
It still counts very heavy in what you pay for auto insurnace, whether you will get the apartment you want to rent and many employers use credit scores as part of background checks for employment so to dismiss having a high score as as only needed for a loan is not correct at all.
True. But, you just need to not have a bad score. You don't need to have a perfect score.
i don't think i paid interest on anything in 35 years. credit score is in the 800's.
auto insurance is as low as it can be because of such a high credit score too.
Unfortunately, the algorithm is secret. The majority of people with revolving credit accounts and no balance seem to not have their credit suffer as a result of being debt free. OTOH, there appear to be some exceptions.
Without knowing the algorithm, it is impossible to say exactly what is going on.
Unfortunately, the algorithm is secret. The majority of people with revolving credit accounts and no balance seem to not have their credit suffer as a result of being debt free. OTOH, there appear to be some exceptions.
Without knowing the algorithm, it is impossible to say exactly what is going on.
That is true. Credit utilization and late payments affect it the most, but other things like length of credit history contribute. My brother does not believe in debt and never had a credit card, but was told he needed a cosigner for a car loan because he had no credit history.
I was always told it was better to have some kind of credit like a mortgage or car and pay on time or have a credit card and keep it open but pay off the balance each month. It's great not to need credit at all, but for most people that want to buy a house or car that is not realistic.
OP, I would join credit karma and look at your report. Check to make sure there are no errors. If you are not planning to buy a house or car in the near future, I would not worry too much.
That is true. Credit utilization and late payments affect it the most, but other things like length of credit history contribute. My brother does not believe in debt and never had a credit card, but was told he needed a cosigner for a car loan because he had no credit history.
I was always told it was better to have some kind of credit like a mortgage or car and pay on time or have a credit card and keep it open but pay off the balance each month. It's great not to need credit at all, but for most people that want to buy a house or car that is not realistic.
OP, I would join credit karma and look at your report. Check to make sure there are no errors. If you are not planning to buy a house or car in the near future, I would not worry too much.
Does Credit Karma do a good job of monitoring for ID theft as well?
True. But, you just need to not have a bad score. You don't need to have a perfect score.
correct, but the higher the better. the insurers use what is called an insurance score. it consists of your driving record and credit score as well as location and some other parameters. the higher you can make that score the less you pay.
Does Credit Karma do a good job of monitoring for ID theft as well?
I don't believe that they themselves monitor your accounts for ID theft, but seeing as how any new activity(like a new CC opened under your ID) would show up, it does allow you to very effectively monitor your own account.
They give you a summary on the login page with things like this
Quote:
Nov 7, 2014 You are currently using 8% of your available credit card limits. Credit Limit Activity Oct 8, 2014 Your previously unused BRCLYSBANKDE account is now reporting a balance. Debt Activity
Oct 1, 2014 You have had 1 new account added to your credit report. Accounts Activity
Sep 2, 2014 You now have 7 hard credit inquiries on your report (1 added). Inquiries Activity
Sep 2, 2014 The limit on 1 of your credit cards has increased. Credit Limit Activity Sep 2, 2014 Your CHASE account balance has surged from $212 to $2,409. Debt Activity
Aug 4, 2014 You have had 1 new account added to your credit report. Accounts Activity Aug 4, 2014 You have had 1 new account added to your credit report. Accounts Activity
Aug 4, 2014 Credit Score Activity
The bolded ones are great examples for self monitoring because that's the kind of stuff that would indicate a problem. Granted, they don't email me about that(I can't remember if I turned that off or they just don't do it) but I check mine weekly just to see the new scores.
On the real page, you can open any of the lines above to see the exact details behind the account.
As others have mentioned you can still have a great credit score without carrying a credit card balance. Even if your score is good, you aren't going to get a great permanent interest rate on the cards (maybe a good introductory rate), so you will always be paying more in interest than you should. I would always choose not paying credit card interest rates over the slight dip in credit score. But I'm not entirely convinced the drop is due to not carrying a balance.
as i said carrying a balance can't possibly mean much . we never ever carried a balance or had any debt in decades and both of us are over the 820's.
we use thousands a month in credit card usage but never any balance left over.
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