Oct 25
Well, i have a few credit cards… total debt adds up to about 2500 dollars… not bad compared to others out there…
my question is, is this bad for my credit? even though i pay my minimum dues ON TIME…. i also make side payments as well…
does this help or diminish my credit score?
my question is, is this bad for my credit? even though i pay my minimum dues ON TIME…. i also make side payments as well…
does this help or diminish my credit score?
As long as you are making payments that meet the minimum requirement, that does not affect your FICO score. However, if you are close to your limits, it BRINGS IT DOWN. So I recommend paying more. It is better for your credit to make more than the minimum, but the minimum is, well, the minimum requirement.
its not necessarily bad, but its not great either. Try to pay more of your min. payments and not spend as much. The credit card companies want you to use there card so intrest gets higher and you pay more, but it doesnt look great on your credit score .
It could count against you if you go for a mortgage or car loan, because it counts as outstanding debt, and creditors may wonder if you can make both payments.
The fact that you pay your bill on time helps.
Well my dear…It is a very good sign that you are worried about your minimal credit card debt. It is good that you are making side payments because paying the minimum about due is never enough. It is also good that you have some debt in order to aquire a good credit score with good payment history.
no debt is bad credit. that being said, since you have debt and are not making delinquent payments, that counts for something in creditors’ eyes
however, you also have to take into consideration among how many cards is this debt split and how long you’ve been carrying the debt.
Be careful there! Credit cards can be awful for your credit score. You have to realize that when you are paying only the minimum payment that you are paying on the interest and not on the priciple. It does help that you are making extra payments, however, this is still detrimental to your credit.
Credit cards can be great for establishing credit but also destroying it. Having any credit debt damages your credit, so get these cards payed off as soon as possible. My best advice would be to keep one card and close all the others. Pay that card of EVERY month religiously.
If you make all your payments on time even if it is the minimum amount due it shouldn’t be bad for your credit I think it matters more how much of your credit line have you used up (how close you are to your limit on all of your cards). You really should try to pay more than the minimum as often as possible or you will end up paying alot in intrest in the end.
Carrying a balance and paying on time raises your credit ratings. This is exactly what the credit card companies want you to do.
Paying it off, then using some credit again, is also good.
The top issue is paying the minimums on time. Do not EVER be late.
However you must be careful not to use too much of your debt to income ratio, that is, there is a maximum amount of credit you can have for your income. If you get too close to that limit it will reduce your credit rating.
Request a free credit report. You are entitled to one free report each year. And you can do it all on-line.
is that like three or four credit cards.
2500 is not that much when considering that the average person who caries a balance on credit cards is around 8400 i believe.
Do pay more than the minimum payment, otherwise you will be paying forever.
I’d say it would help your score doing what you are doing cause you r debt is still relatively low nad you are paying more than the minumim.
You need to determine your debt to income ratio. $2,500 in debt isn’t really much if you make $70K a year, but if you’re only making about $20K then that’s pretty bad. As far as your credit card score goes there’s lots of factors involved. Are you at the max on these cards? Do you have the potential to charge more debt? “Potential debt” is one thing they look at which is why you should always close any credit card accounts you’re no longer using. A lot of people think having that credit is good but it goes against you.
Credit cards are never a good thing. You buy something on “sale” but then if it takes you months and months and months to pay off the item you just may end up paying TWICE what you originally paid for it.
Credit cards should only be used for emergencies. Have one on hand to cover car repairs, vet bills or if you’re suddenly unemployed. If you’re putting everyday things like groceries on credit then you need to work out a budget and figure out why you’re having to put living expenses on credit. And if you’re charging trips and fancy electronics and things you can’t really afford on credit cards then odds are in a few years you’re going to be way over your head in credit card debt.
Save your money instead to get the things you “really need”. After a few months of socking away money for that particular item you might find you didn’t really want or need it at all – you were only acting on impulse.
It depends on how much the limits on the cards are. Typically you want to use less than 1/3 of the limits on your cards, and pay all of your bills on time, not just credit cards. It’s not necessarily a bad thing to carry a balance…people who have credit cards that they pay in full every month and never pay any finance charges aren’t going to have real high credit scores either because they aren’t viewed as a really desirable customer, since the credit card company isn’t making any money off of them.
As long as you keep your balances down, pay on time, and pay more than the minimum, AND keep your total indebtedness down, you should be fine. Keep in mind that a big balance jump, or going over your limit on one or more cards will make your score tank really fast. However, you have to do a lot of work over many months to get it back up again.
I signed up with Washington Mutual for a Visa card, and I can see my current FICO score for free, so I can see how my actions are affecting my score. You can apply for one here:
Credit that is not used makes the score go up. So lower balances are best. Paying on time is certainly helpful.
I have some ‘Smart’ advice on my . Hope this will help you to at least consolidate your cards into one with the lowest APY.
Paying on time is a smart thing to do to avoid late charges. Getting late charges will affect your APY.
No credit card debt is the best way and the only way. Paying a credit card balance every month will increase your FICO score.
Paying minimum is not the way either…you are extending your ‘loan’, if you do, pay attention to the APY on your credit card statement.
Think about where the money you owe on your credit cards is coming from.
Good luck.