Random Question

[Jb1210a]

This is just something I was wondering, in a 6 month period, assuming you did everything correct in an effort to raise your credit score, how much can you expect it to raise?

[bjl584]

Improve Credit Score - Credit Tips at Experian.com

According to the above article, there is no real easy answer. It depends entirely on the individual and their particular set of circumstances. But, it looks like 6 months may not be long enough to change things all that much.

[disneysteve]

The difficulty in answering this question is due to a few things, especially because nobody but FICO really knows how they calculate your score. Also, though, several different things go into your score and they aren't all equally weighted so how quickly your score recovers is due in part to why it was low to begin with. If your credit utilization was high that's different than if you paid a bunch of bills late or defaulted on a loan or had your house foreclosed.

[Jb1210a]

My score is low most definitely because of my utilization, and lack of accounts, I've never defaulted and my days of paying late are thankfully behind me. I know I need more accounts open, but I'm afraid that if I look to open a new account and fail because of my score that I am just putting myself back when I'm just trying to lower the amount of credit I have tied up in debt.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by Jb1210a

I know I need more accounts open

Why? You don't need more accounts if your utilization is high. You need to pay down the balances you already have. That's what will help your score. You should never charge more than 30% of your available credit line, so on a $5,000 card, don't charge more than $1,500.

[Jb1210a]

Oh, didn't know that, I know that paying down the debt is a smart option, but I wasn't aware that adding new credit (with a low balance) wouldn't help as much as paying it down.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by Jb1210a

Oh, didn't know that, I know that paying down the debt is a smart option, but I wasn't aware that adding new credit (with a low balance) wouldn't help as much as paying it down.

Well your utilization would go down if your available credit went up but I don't think it is a good idea to take on new accounts for the sole purpose of raising your score.

Why are you concerned with your score right now? Are you planning to borrow money for something?

[Jb1210a]

I've been concerned with my score for a while since I was in a bad situation in my life where things like my credit score got completely neglected and I'm diligently trying to improve those areas of my life. Improving my score is a major goal of mine as I want to buy a house within a year or two.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by Jb1210a

I've been concerned with my score for a while since I was in a bad situation in my life where things like my credit score got completely neglected and I'm diligently trying to improve those areas of my life. Improving my score is a major goal of mine as I want to buy a house within a year or two.

Makes sense. For sure, the best way to get your score up is to pay down outstanding debt. You may want to consider starting a thread where you lay out your income, expenses and current debts and let folks advise places to trim spending and how best to allocate money toward the debts.

[Jb1210a]

That's actually a great idea, I'll get right to that. Not too be too much of a newb, but is there a recommended subforum I would post something like that in?

[bjl584]

Originally Posted by Jb1210a

That's actually a great idea, I'll get right to that. Not too be too much of a newb, but is there a recommended subforum I would post something like that in?

This subforum (Personal Finance) is fine.

[Jb1210a]

I plan on doing that tomorrow since that's when I will receive my first paycheck and I'll know how much I'm taking home per week. I've made a simple budget based on what I know I am to make (roughly) and how much my bills are, it's going to be nice to see what others suggest since my numbers are too close, I don't have much wiggle room with the way it looks right now.

[Bob B.]

What I can tell you is that in Oct. 2010, my credit score was 580.

In Jan. 2011 it was 620.

In Aug 2011 it was 667.

The improvements were made by faithfully making payments on all my accounts each month during that period.

I'm going to check my credit score again next Jan. or Feb. I'm hoping for a 700 score by then.

Basically, I think the score rises faster when it's low, and plateaus as it gets better, assuming you maintain the same good practices. My increase from 580 to 620 took less time than my increase from 667 to 700 will.

[Frugal]

I don't know, but I thought I heard it was possible to raise the score 100 points or so in 6 months. Maybe im wrong...

[krantcents]

The score is weighted by statistics that are longer than 6 months. They include outstanding debt and credit availability. They look at how long the credit is open. All of it is weighted by time.

[tlscott1]

It is diffult to calculate b/c the credit companies keep these scores a secret. A site that I like is credit karma!

It will help you dtermine what the best things are to increase your credit score, ect.

[Jb1210a]

I haven't checked that site out yet, do you really get access to your score monthly? I thought you had to pay if you wanted to see your score.

[HousingCounselor]

If utilization is one of your problems theoretically you could raise your score overnight if you pay your debt down enough. However it could take your creditors 30 to 45 days to reflect those decreases in balances on your credit report. Utilization is a major factor as it makes up 30% of your score. In order to see a significant increase you would need for utilization ratio to be no more than 3 to 10 or using no more than 30% of your credit limits.

Unless you have a large lump sum (if needed) to put down over the next six months you won't see much improvement with your scores. We use score simulators in our office for clients who have the means to do something like that. That way, we can tell them what debt they will need to pay off or down to raise their score the most.

The best thing to do is to continue to pay your bills on time and pay them down as fast as you can. I see this all of the time. A person is perfect on their credit in regards to a perfect repayment history and no delinquencies but their scores are dragging because of their utilization ratios.

[Jb1210a]

I'm definitely going to do my best to make that happen. The balance on my one card is low luckily enough (1200) so a substantial amount doesn't have to be too big.

[JustBill]

Have you visited creditboards dot com? Lots of FICO obsessed posting over there. But nonetheless, you'll find helpful tips.