How's your credit?

[alnorth]

This may be a bit controversial, but I am very new to the whole concept of credit scoring, so we'll see what happens. I just got my FICO score today from Experian. I'll need to get a car loan next summer so I'll need to work on my credit till then, but I wanted to see how it compares with a random sampling of chiefs planet fans who are inclined to anonymously vote their range in a poll.

[onescrewleftuntwisted]

where is the option for

i have no credit, so fuck off

[BigRedChief]

I have to maintain great credit or I lose my job.

[DTLB58]

Good FICO score = Debt! Who needs it.

Your credit FICO score ranges from 300-850 it is based on your payment history 35%, How much you owe 30% The length of your credit history 15% The type of credit you use 10% and applying for new credit 10% is based on that.

Instead of working on your credit sscore till you need a car loan, why don't you save up and pay cash for the car instead?

The average car payment in America is $378 over 63 months (source: USA Today) If instead you pay cash for your vehicles and slowly move up in car over time you will be far ahead of the finacial game and have a lot more money than your broke friends who tie up their money paying payments most of their adult life.

Remember, "The borrower is slave to the lender" Go here www.daveramsey.com to change your financial future.

[DTLB58]

Originally Posted by ENDelt260

Me. I like having a roof over my head.

You can get a mortgage without having a good FICO score. Car debt is waaayyy different than a mortgage also.

[KingPriest2]

Originally Posted by DTLB58

You can get a mortgage without having a good FICO score. Car debt is waaayyy different than a mortgage also.

What do you consider a bad score? Where is the breaking point in where you can't get a loan?

Do you know what type of loan you can get with bad credit?

[luv]

Originally Posted by DTLB58

Instead of working on your credit sscore till you need a car loan, why don't you save up and pay cash for the car instead?

If you have that kind of money laying around, then I have a better idea. Why don't you buy the car for me, so I don't have to worry about my credit?

[DTLB58]

Originally Posted by luv2rite

If you have that kind of money laying around, then I have a better idea. Why don't you buy the car for me, so I don't have to worry about my credit?

We are currently saving for another car, this one for my wife. You take care of your family I'll take care of mine.

[Skip Towne]

I could probably live on what Endelt pays in interest.

[alnorth]

Originally Posted by DTLB58

Good FICO score = Debt! Who needs it.

Your credit FICO score ranges from 300-850 it is based on your payment history 35%, How much you owe 30% The length of your credit history 15% The type of credit you use 10% and applying for new credit 10% is based on that.

Instead of working on your credit sscore till you need a car loan, why don't you save up and pay cash for the car instead?

The average car payment in America is $378 over 63 months (source: USA Today) If instead you pay cash for your vehicles and slowly move up in car over time you will be far ahead of the finacial game and have a lot more money than your broke friends who tie up their money paying payments most of their adult life.

Remember, "The borrower is slave to the lender" Go here www.daveramsey.com to change your financial future.

In theory I agree with you. The reality is, I'll need a new car next summer. It doesnt have to be "new" as in 2006 model, but I need something very reliable and decent. I dont know if I'll be able to have $6,000+ banked by June. To make up for that, I plan on having a short-term loan of only 2-3 years. Taking out a 5-10 year loan for a car so that you can have small payments is stupid. I dont give a rat's ass what the payments are (within reason), as long as the interest is low and the duration of the payments are short, I care more about the dollars paid out at the end of the loan. All the extra interest you pay for 2-3 more years is money not invested or spent elsewhere. I'll seriously think about investing some extra money each month after this summer for the next 4-5 years to pay cash for the next car, though.

In other topics we are probably not far apart. I put away about $200/month (50% matched, so really $300/month) in an extremely diversified 401k with some moderate risk (at 28, I am still young enough to tolerate a lot of risk). I dont own a home or have a mortgage, I rent. I see absolutely no reason not to continue to rent as long as houses continue to be massively overpriced. Everyone is pre-programmed to buy a home as soon as they start making money, but the low price of rent is one of the best-kept secrets in America. In theory, a "fair" rent/month should be 1% of the home's value. Right now, in many places where I live, either the rent is about half the price it should be, home values are nearly twice as high as they should be, or a combination of the two. Even when you figure in the income tax deduction from paying interest, rent is a bargain right now.

[luv]

Originally Posted by alnorth

In other topics we are probably not far apart. I put away about $200/month (50% matched, so really $300/month) in an extremely diversified 401k with some moderate risk (at 28, I am still young enough to tolerate a lot of risk). I dont own a home or have a mortgage, I rent. I see absolutely no reason not to continue to rent as long as houses continue to be massively overpriced. Everyone is pre-programmed to buy a home as soon as they start making money, but the low price of rent is one of the best-kept secrets in America. In theory, a "fair" rent/month should be 1% of the home's value. Right now, in many places where I live, either the rent is about half the price it should be, home values are nearly twice as high as they should be, or a combination of the two. Even when you figure in the income tax deduction from paying interest, rent is a bargain right now.

I put in 4% of my salary into my 401k. My company only matches 25% up to 4% of salary. You're the same age as me, but you consider moderate risk as a lot of risk? I have 50% in high risk, 25% in moderate, and 25% in low. I, too, rent, but I wish I could be putting my rent payments into house payments. On my salary, I can probably afford a decent older home, but I cannot afford all of the extras (maintenance, insurance, taxes, etc). I don't see how paying half the price you should be paying for rent is helping you at all. You are not getting anything back on your money.

[alnorth]

Originally Posted by luv2rite

I put in 4% of my salary into my 401k. My company only matches 25% up to 4% of salary. You're the same age as me, but you consider moderate risk as a lot of risk? I have 50% in high risk, 25% in moderate, and 25% in low. I, too, rent, but I wish I could be putting my rent payments into house payments. On my salary, I can probably afford a decent older home, but I cannot afford all of the extras (maintenance, insurance, taxes, etc). I don't see how paying half the price you should be paying for rent is helping you at all. You are not getting anything back on your money.

Well, as long as you invest the other half that you would have put into the mortgage, then it depends. IF houses where I live are overpriced (check) and IF I am betting that they will fall or stagnate (check), and IF I work in a career that could mandate several moves in the future along with all the extra costs of buying and selling homes (check) and IF I can avoid the property taxes in a market where competitively the landlord cant pass it all down to me (check), then it gets more complicated. I think its a wash, so I'm taking the less-risky option by investing the difference.

If housing prices collapse, I will definitely consider buying.

[Calcountry]

Originally Posted by alnorth

In theory I agree with you. The reality is, I'll need a new car next summer. It doesnt have to be "new" as in 2006 model, but I need something very reliable and decent. I dont know if I'll be able to have $6,000+ banked by June. To make up for that, I plan on having a short-term loan of only 2-3 years. Taking out a 5-10 year loan for a car so that you can have small payments is stupid. I dont give a rat's ass what the payments are (within reason), as long as the interest is low and the duration of the payments are short, I care more about the dollars paid out at the end of the loan. All the extra interest you pay for 2-3 more years is money not invested or spent elsewhere. I'll seriously think about investing some extra money each month after this summer for the next 4-5 years to pay cash for the next car, though.

In other topics we are probably not far apart. I put away about $200/month (50% matched, so really $300/month) in an extremely diversified 401k with some moderate risk (at 28, I am still young enough to tolerate a lot of risk). I dont own a home or have a mortgage, I rent. I see absolutely no reason not to continue to rent as long as houses continue to be massively overpriced. Everyone is pre-programmed to buy a home as soon as they start making money, but the low price of rent is one of the best-kept secrets in America. In theory, a "fair" rent/month should be 1% of the home's value. Right now, in many places where I live, either the rent is about half the price it should be, home values are nearly twice as high as they should be, or a combination of the two. Even when you figure in the income tax deduction from paying interest, rent is a bargain right now.

After this post, I checked where you are from. Obviously you don't live in California.

[teedubya]

Originally Posted by DTLB58

Good FICO score = Debt! Who needs it.

Your credit FICO score ranges from 300-850 it is based on your payment history 35%, How much you owe 30% The length of your credit history 15% The type of credit you use 10% and applying for new credit 10% is based on that.

Instead of working on your credit sscore till you need a car loan, why don't you save up and pay cash for the car instead?

The average car payment in America is $378 over 63 months (source: USA Today) If instead you pay cash for your vehicles and slowly move up in car over time you will be far ahead of the finacial game and have a lot more money than your broke friends who tie up their money paying payments most of their adult life.

Remember, "The borrower is slave to the lender" Go here www.daveramsey.com to change your financial future.

ah yes... thanks for getting him started!