At the suggestion of another blogger (sorry, I forget which one), I signed up with CreditKarma, which is a free service that estimates your credit score. I check my credit report about quarterly, but I've never paid to see my actual score. Anyway, the results were apalling, or at least, mildly uncomfortable.
Don't get me wrong, my payment history is completely flawless. Among the negatives was the fact that I utilize too large a percentage of my available credit. 35% is too much? Fine, I'm working on that as I type. I've also applied for a new credit card (since I only have the one) to increase my total available credit and in case of emergencies. Check. Second, my credit history, though perfect, is relatively short. On average, a few years. Ok, that's another thing I am working on, but I can't age any faster. I think there were a few more issues, but those were the main things.
I'm bitter, basically. Three years of perfectly on-time, in-full (EARLY) payments on my credit cards and student loans, and my score is only "fair"? Not fair!
Showing posts with label credit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label credit. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
That's the sound of a [wo]man working on the chain gang
I was just speaking with a colleague whose story highlights the importance of staying out of credit card debt, or at least having a plan to pay it off.
She's in her early 30s with 3 credit cards, and she carries a balance on all of them. She says she pays the minimum balance on them, and sometimes tries to pay a bit more, but she has no plan. She's basically living paycheck to paycheck (unnecessarily) and charging food (is that $2 muffin really worth $5?). I recommended Dave Ramsey's book as an inspirational tool for her situation, but I'm not sure she was seeking advice.
She did say something that really struck me: "I'm not worried; I'll get out of debt sometime."
Unless you're taking steps to be proactive about doing something, "sometime" will never come, and your debt will just keep mounting. Unless it's concrete -- unless you have a plan -- unless "sometime" becomes "today," or "December 31st," or "in 3 years," it's not going to happen.
She's in her early 30s with 3 credit cards, and she carries a balance on all of them. She says she pays the minimum balance on them, and sometimes tries to pay a bit more, but she has no plan. She's basically living paycheck to paycheck (unnecessarily) and charging food (is that $2 muffin really worth $5?). I recommended Dave Ramsey's book as an inspirational tool for her situation, but I'm not sure she was seeking advice.
She did say something that really struck me: "I'm not worried; I'll get out of debt sometime."
Unless you're taking steps to be proactive about doing something, "sometime" will never come, and your debt will just keep mounting. Unless it's concrete -- unless you have a plan -- unless "sometime" becomes "today," or "December 31st," or "in 3 years," it's not going to happen.
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