So I pulled my first one, and things are pretty much as they should. No new inquiries that shouldn't be there, the newest one being from when I got my Chase credit card in February.
Looking at the report got me thinking... this is just the report. Last time, I pulled the report and talked myself into buying my score (I can't remember specifically, but it was December 2011 and my score was 67x). I would love to see what it is again, since I've paid down over $5000 in debt... but that's just mere curiosity and don't want to spend $8 for curiosity's sake. I hope my score is a lot higher, just because. And because I want to buy a car in a year or so.
Another thing that came to mind that somehow I hadn't noticed before... when I bought my laptop, I used Dell's payment program, which is like a Dell line of credit. Which is a line of credit, for all intent and purposes. That line's been paid in full for a long long time now, but it's still "open". It has a $3,600 limit on it. Should I close it? From what I know of credit and its calculations, they also take into consideration the amount of credit available. But if I pay down all my debt, do I still need that much credit scattered around? In total, I have $11,100 in credit (with only a 14% utilization ratio... go me!). But perhaps I don't need that much credit to begin with? Chances are I won't use the account, since now I know a lot better, and if I was to buy a new laptop, I'd save for it and pay it in full with cash.
Wish they'd stop being so secretive about this credit score fiasco and tell you what exactly affects your score and how it's calculated. Nothing spells "fishy" and "fiasco" like hiding the calculations.
I've "heard" that closing credit can temporarily ding your score, regardless of your available credit. But, I'm a fan of closing accounts you don't use - why run the risk of credit fraud? That may not be the most credit score savvy option - just my personal opinion.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Hawaii Planner. I would close the account, particularly if you know you're not going to use it again. Your score will drop temporarily, but I'd rather that - because you can bring it back up - than have the possibility of fraud or a credit request turned down because you've got too much credit.
ReplyDeleteI closed 4 cards and one line of credit that we will never use again 3 months ago and my score went down 3 points and my husbands went up 7. Its really your choice but I don't like having credit lines opens and it takes away that urge to use it on a bad day :)
ReplyDelete3 points down and 7 up? That's pretty good. I guess I'll go ahead and close it. I would really hate to ever use it!
DeleteI just checked my credit report too and i plan on staggering the three throughout the year. I also can't decide whether to close some accounts or not. I'll probably close them when i make the next check. My credit is excellent so I'm not too worried about a drop. I've been focusing on building my husband's credit and will be opening up an Amex and Visa for him soon to try and build it. I've been paying to check his score every year, we've made progress, but i'd still like to see it go up some more before we need to buy a car or a house.
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