A noobie question on credit scores! I know raising your score is partly done by reliable monthly payments on credit cards and loans - and people who are just starting out to build their scores, are often advised to get a card and begin to responsibly pay it off, to catch the notice of the reporting agencies. Would that mean that if you can pay off a large credit loan (e.g., in the realm of $2k) immediately instead of sticking to a monthly payment system, you're missing out on chances to further raise your score? Or does being able to pay off such an amount in full give you an equivalent gold star sticker? [more inside]
posted by Bakuun on Jul 1, 2008 - 6 answers

My father, grandfather, and I all have the first and last names, with only different middle names to distinguish us, no suffixes. How do I go about untangling our credit reports? [more inside]
posted by aristan on May 10, 2007 - 12 answers

CreditFilter: Does co-signing for my student loans affect my parents' credit? [more inside]
posted by charmston on Jul 1, 2006 - 9 answers

CreditFilter: Two years ago, not really understanding the importance of good credit behavior, I let a department store card slide for 180 days, twice (I KNOW!). This impacted my credit history greatly. I had previously had 4 years of good payment on two credit cards. Over the past year, to help recover and instill good habits, I pay my credit cards in full every month (read: no personal debt) and added a paid off car loan to my reports (15K). My CC limits have slowly increased but my score has remained somewhat the same (10 pt increase).

What can I do to get out of this rut? Some collegues I know have a sizable CC debt (around 15-20K) with less income than me but have great scores and could buy a house tommorrow with no problems. What am I missing and no, credit-fixing agencies are NOT an option.
posted by anonymous on Dec 12, 2004 - 11 answers