Credit Rating Nonsense

[jimh406]

Credit is important, and using credit helps your credit score. If you don’t know the rules, you should look into them before you need to borrow money.

I’m not a believer in paying cash for a house, or paying it off early. The loan rates are so low I can easily make more of a return on the cash in the stock market, and have in the time I’ve owned my current house. And … I’m much more liquid if needed for smaller purchases.

I do buy used cars that I can pay off instead of new and let someone else take the majority of the depreciation. Unlike a house, cars are almost always depreciating. Also, if I do want to make a big purchase, like a house, I don’t have short term loans that count against what I could borrow.

I also use an airline mileage CC. Yes, there is a fee, but we’ve flown with miles at the last minute for years. Handy if you don’t know you are going to fly until the last minute and the companion fares aren’t bad either.

I was disappointed that I had to buy a new tractor, but considering there were basically zero reasonable priced used ones, new made sense.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

re: I’m not a believer in paying cash for a house, or paying it off early. The loan rates are so low I can easily make more of a return on the cash in the stock market,

I did the opposite back in '84.. had a 50% down payment, rest as mortgage, paid it off real fast (2y4m) even though 'everyone' said invest in mutual funds/aka stock market.....
I reasoned that if i pay OFF the house, it's MINE, period. Had I done what the 'experts' said, I'd have lost all the 'profit' and my investment money in the MF/SM mess AND the bank would have called in the note, and taken the house( saw this happen to others...). Having the house totally paid off, allowed me to retire at 35.

 

[jimh406]

I reasoned that if i pay OFF the house, it's MINE, period. Had I done what the 'experts' said, I'd have lost all the 'profit' and my investment money in the MF/SM mess AND the bank would have called in the note, and taken the house( saw this happen to others...). Having the house totally paid off, allowed me to retire at 35.

My house has increased in value, and so has my stock. I could easily sell the house for triple my investment after only a few years. Stocks are a long term investment.

If you can’t ride the down turns out, then don’t do it! Fwiw, if you look at what the stock market has done since 84, you’d be wealthy and not just have a house. Some examples … https://www.cnbc.com/2017/02/23/inv...-1980s-would-have-made-you-a-millionaire.html

To each his/her own.

 

[WFM]

I think your homeowners and car or any insurance uses your credit rate to figure pricing on your policy.

 

[BAP]

It’s all a scam rigged by the financial system so that they can make more money off the backs of the small guy. If you borrow money or use credit your score goes down and if you don’t borrow money or use credit your score goes down. Totally flawed system because you can have millions in the bank and have a crappy credit rating if you don’t borrow money. Just more greed by the financial system of this country

 

[Biker1mike]

I am the most financially secure that I have ever been and my credit rating is at it's lowest.
I had a higher rating when I was way over my head in debt.

 

[L35]

Please help me find a bank to get a loan at the lowest interest rate. All my searches have been unsuccessful, so I hope for your help.

In our country, it's foolish not to worry about your credit rating.

Boy this thread brings in the spammers

 

[Oliver]

It’s all a scam rigged....... Totally flawed system because you can have millions in the bank and have a crappy credit rating if you don’t borrow money. Just more greed by the financial system of this country

This seems to be the case.

 

[ACDII]

I play the credit game now. Have a few cards with high K limits and use them then pay them off right away, and every so often, get a balance transfer offer for 0% for a year or 18 months and use it. There is a fee for doing so, but far less of a fee than any interest that would be paid on that amount for one month. I use it for making large purchases that meet my budget. We sold our old Travel Trailer in 2020, and I just knew that 2021 would be difficult for finding a replacement and if we were going to upgrade, it had to be done NOW. So for the down payment I put it on a card that had 0% for 18 months, minimum payments. Then as the free cycle was getting near, I applied for another card that had a similar offer, then did a balance transfer. I had a previous loan that I knew was ending at a certain time, and the timing was perfect as I redirected that amount to pay off the free credit card.

Play the game, boost your credit, get what you need and be happy. That 5th wheel we purchased in July 2020 is now about $25,000 higher in cost than the one we bought. The RV market surged beyond anything anyone expected, and I had this feeling that if we had waited, we would have been SOL in buying the RV we wanted, and I was right.

Last year I refinanced the mortgage and took out equity to do some major repair work such as new septic, tree removal, new plumbing, new kitchen, etc. Not something easily paid for with cash or credit cards. It took a while for a small HELOC to be paid off, the one bank sent the payments in separately, the other bank applied both to the same account, not very bright. It took over a month and a half to get settled, at which point I was settling on the new tractor model and had applied for the Kubota financing. Unfortunately, some of the previous mortgage stuff had not cleared the reports so it showed I had more payments being made than I actually did, 3 to be exact. While my credit score is Excellent, the ratio was off, so I had to bring my wife onboard. Here's the thing, I made a mistake when I filled out the app, I usually see it as Household Income, and fill out our combined, because frankly thats what it is, when we buy a car or truck its both of our incomes, but the app called for my income alone, and not thinking, put my income. oops.

That was October last year, and all the old loans are cleared off and the ratio is back to what it should be, so if run today, would be no issue, but that is something to keep in mind when applying, if you had old loans paid off, make sure they have been cleared from your credit report as paid in full or they could affect the loan you are applying for even IF your scores are high.

KreditKarma keeps sending me ads for loans based on my Citibank balance. You could save money in interest with these loans! I LOL No I wont, not paying any interest!

I do have some older credit cards that are affecting my score, not because of a balance, as they are all 0, but because the limits are low. I should probably request a limit increase, which will boost my score.

It's a game, play or not. Back in the early 90's I was forced into bankruptcy due to a truck accident and unable to work, with no support from insurance or workmans comp. Took a good 10 years to come up from the basement, and was able to do so and get my credit rating up high, so now I take advantage of it every chance I get.

 

[Henro]

Boy this thread brings in the spammers

Really?

Tell us more. I actually do not see the point of your comment, but am willing to learn...

 

[fried1765]

I've only had four vehicles in my life, so far. Retired in 2015. No debt. Had been banking at the same bank for years. My old set of wheels needed replacement so I went to the bank to get pre approved for their newly advertised, extremely low interest rate program on a new vehicle. The bank said absolutely, go find your new vehicle and come back and we'll do the paper work. I bought a new Tacoma pickup (2017). Went to do the paperwork and hit a stone wall. I had no steady income according to the bank. Even with more than enough in my savings account to buy it outright. I had taken a lump sum instead of an annuity at retirement and offered to show them my net worth but they didn't care as I had no steady income. I couldn't believe it. Told them to secure the loan with my savings account but they couldn't do that either. I went back to the dealer and paid cash for the truck. the next day went back to the bank and closed all my accounts there. Made them cancel my CC card at the same time. Caused quite a commotion when the bank manager got involved and wanted to know my reasoning. I told her your bank sucks and has absolutely no value to me. Also told her that the wife and son will be in shortly to close their accounts, too. When I explained the details to her she wanted to make an exception for me but I said, "Too little, too late!" I walked out with a rather large cashier's check and went to a small local bank where they now know me by name as I walk in the door. The former bank wasn't very congenial to the wife and our oldest son when they closed their accounts. Good riddance to U.S. Bank!

I love it when businesses try to back pedal on an offer, and I can politely tell them to pound sand!

 

[fried1765]

In our country, it's foolish not to worry about your credit rating.

At 81 years old, with a defined benefit retirement, a 401K, stock portfolio, IRA, and small amount of gold+ cash....I am.... "foolish" because I don't give a chit about my credit rating?
My real "worry" is about not living long enough to use much of it up.

 

[L35]

Really?

Tell us more. I actually do not see the point of your comment, but am willing to learn...

Those users I quoted are bots, not real kubota owners. There’s been several attracted to this thread through its life, I report them. Some get the axe, others get missed.

 

[L35]

Yes, I agree with you that credit points are one of the most important things when you find yourself in the situation of getting a loan. I personally use yhdistalaina.com in order to get my credit score up faster and I advise you to find a similar website for credit score boosts. I also suggest you don't trade loaned money because it is very risky and you could lose a lot of money very fast. And since I am no expert I suggest you talk to one in order to do these kinds of actions as safe as possible.

Henro, take this one for example, pimping the website listed for page hits.

 

[motionclone]

It’s all a scam rigged by the financial system so that they can make more money off the backs of the small guy. If you borrow money or use credit your score goes down and if you don’t borrow money or use credit your score goes down. Totally flawed system because you can have millions in the bank and have a crappy credit rating if you don’t borrow money. Just more greed by the financial system of this country

Its a predictable, easy to figure out system though and the reward is the ability to borrow money for cheap. A guy that has "millions of dollars in the bank" SHOULD have a lower credit score because they arent very smart with money. Those millions can make more through better investment than "in the bank"

 

[Henro]

Its a predictable, easy to figure out system though and the reward is the ability to borrow money for cheap. A guy that has "millions of dollars in the bank" SHOULD have a lower credit score because they arent very smart with money. Those millions can make more through better investment than "in the bank"

BUT...is having money in the "Bank" even considered with respect to the credit rating? I don't think so but do not know. Lack of debt is not from what I can see.

I have money elsewhere, in inflation protected mutual funds and inflation protected I Bonds, which I bough back when the base rate was VERY favorable, and they are paying over 10 percent now...with close to minimal risk compared to other investments, risk wise. AND they do not lose value. I mean the I Bonds, the others do have market swings.

It seems like a person's real net worth is not considered. I wonder what the credit rating of the Amazon guy or the Lexus guy is? Might be lower than mine!

Go figure...

EDIT: by your definition, the amazon guy or lexus guy don't have much smarts. But I guess it depends on your definition of BANK. For some bank just means somewhere money is put, even in the stock market or elsewhere. I doubt you will find anyone that has much money to put somewhere, that will let it sit in a bank account...

 

[ACDII]

Credit bureaus don't have your financial information, they don't know your actual income, nor how much money you have in your accounts, but they do rely on your reporting of income. They obtain your "income" from creditors as well. When you apply you tell them how much you make, and for high dollar loans, provide copies of your pay stubs. So this is where the CB gets your income information that they use to project your score. If the income they show is wrong, you make a lot more than is shown, you can update the CB and they will recalculate the data.

As far as how much money you have in a checking or savings account, only the bank and you know how much is in there, oh and the IRS, especially if there is more than $600 in it.

 

[DustyRusty]

Credit ratings are based upon payment histories. Paying off a loan early may appear to credit software that a loss of payment history has occurred. So a letter from you to your credit file will correct that misconception by the rating system.

In the “old days” it was easy to establish credit by borrowing a small amount you don’t need over a 90-day period, and then paying it off the next month early. That was back when actual people kept the records and noted the borrowers’ payment record. But in the “modern’’ system an early payment looks like a customer did NOT comply with the 90-day payment plan to which was agreed.... therefore a negative mark.

Write a letter and have it placed in your file. Should correct the issue. (Yes... dumb,... but that’s how to correct it.)

I had the perfect 900 when I borrowed $17K cash to quickly close the deal on my tractor in a private sale. I cashed in a CD and paid the loan off 2 days later. My rating would have dropped over that....but my banker was smart enough to know the system and made a “lenders comment” to my file as the report was made... so my rating did not change. Had he not done that....and had I given a damn about the deduct to perhaps 880.... (which has virtually no effect and neither does 860 to 820... but a hundred-point-loss of 860 to 760 would be a serious “ding”) ... I would have had to write a similar letter to recover the lost rating.

Yep. Dumb. But it’s how things are done in “modern society” and bitchin’ about it and walking away won’t change that. It’ll only make your insurance premiums climb.

First of all, a 900 credit score isn’t really possible. And just 1% of the population can achieve a credit score of 850, so there’s a certain point where trying to get the highest possible credit score isn’t realistic at all. Only a few credit score models have a credit score limit of 900 as is. For instance, both the FICO and VantageScore models max out at a score of 850.

Is It Possible To Have a 900 Credit Score? | MoneyLion

Is it possible to have a 900 credit score? MoneyLion talks about the highest credit score you can have and gives tips about raising your credit score.

www.moneylion.com

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[My Barn]

Banks are a joke...In U.S. you are entitled to a Free credit report once a year! It's a good practice to do! Most CU are a better way to get (lower rate too) a car loan. The last two cars we bought the Manufacture was a zero percent...Those days are gone now.
Transfer money or put cash into a checking account, bank has to hold the cash 2-3 days? Yes before you write a check on that account.
Credit rating is now how insurance rate one, they used to use the area that one lived in.

 

[William1]

My bank provides the credit score for free for the 'Premier' customers. Mine has hovered between 828 and 832 for 20 years. My income and net worth keep shooting up. Yet this last month, my score dropped to 782. Not that it matters really, I am a cash buyer so the score has no value to me other than 'buttering my bread'. But a 50 point drop for no reason? Did they give my 50 points to some deserving soul who only had 450?