Comments on: Vexed by a couple of MSN credit card articles http://www.mightybargainhunter.com/2005/09/21/vexed-by-a-couple-of-msn-credit-card-articles/ Personal finance, commentary, and spending less the easy way Fri, 19 Mar 2010 14:24:44 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 By: mbhunter http://www.mightybargainhunter.com/2005/09/21/vexed-by-a-couple-of-msn-credit-card-articles/comment-page-1/#comment-171 mbhunter Tue, 27 Sep 2005 02:56:49 +0000 http://mightybargainhunter.com/2005/09/21/vexed-by-a-couple-of-msn-credit-card-articles/#comment-171 Hi Sam, thanks for the comment! Actually, I don't even know what my credit score is these days. I probably won't be looking for any loans or changing jobs, so no need for anyone to peek at my numbers. I don't owe anything except my mortgage. I was vicariously vexed, if that makes sense :) The vexing-est part for me was that people could end up better off (according to their credit scores) by not paying down their old debts. That made no sense to me. Hi Sam, thanks for the comment! Actually, I don’t even know what my credit score is these days. I probably won’t be looking for any loans or changing jobs, so no need for anyone to peek at my numbers. I don’t owe anything except my mortgage. I was vicariously vexed, if that makes sense :)

The vexing-est part for me was that people could end up better off (according to their credit scores) by not paying down their old debts. That made no sense to me.

]]> By: Sam http://www.mightybargainhunter.com/2005/09/21/vexed-by-a-couple-of-msn-credit-card-articles/comment-page-1/#comment-170 Sam Tue, 27 Sep 2005 02:23:33 +0000 http://mightybargainhunter.com/2005/09/21/vexed-by-a-couple-of-msn-credit-card-articles/#comment-170 Rather than be vexed and worry about your credit score, why not just pay down your debts, save some money for emergencies, close most of the credit accounts, and discover financial peace? Rather than be vexed and worry about your credit score, why not just pay down your debts, save some money for emergencies, close most of the credit accounts, and discover financial peace?

]]> By: mbhunter http://www.mightybargainhunter.com/2005/09/21/vexed-by-a-couple-of-msn-credit-card-articles/comment-page-1/#comment-148 mbhunter Thu, 22 Sep 2005 04:16:23 +0000 http://mightybargainhunter.com/2005/09/21/vexed-by-a-couple-of-msn-credit-card-articles/#comment-148 Yes, quite vexing. I suppose that if you're paying your bills all the time and don't have a need for anyone to check your credit rating, it really doesn't matter. And if the worst thing that the credit bureaus can say is that I haven't had my accounts open long enough or that my utilization is high, then I'm in pretty good shape. Yes, quite vexing. I suppose that if you’re paying your bills all the time and don’t have a need for anyone to check your credit rating, it really doesn’t matter. And if the worst thing that the credit bureaus can say is that I haven’t had my accounts open long enough or that my utilization is high, then I’m in pretty good shape.

]]> By: fivecentnickel.com http://www.mightybargainhunter.com/2005/09/21/vexed-by-a-couple-of-msn-credit-card-articles/comment-page-1/#comment-146 fivecentnickel.com Wed, 21 Sep 2005 13:27:49 +0000 http://mightybargainhunter.com/2005/09/21/vexed-by-a-couple-of-msn-credit-card-articles/#comment-146 Getting rid of cards can actually hurt you credit score in other ways, too. One of the big factors in determining credit scores is 'utilization' -- i.e., the proportion of your total available credit that is currently in use. Lower is better, and there's two ways to decrease it. One is to minimize the amount that you owe. The other is to increase your available credit (or at least to not cancel existing, but unused lines). Either approach has pretty much the same impact on your utilization, so either approach can help your credit score. How's that for vexing? Getting rid of cards can actually hurt you credit score in other ways, too. One of the big factors in determining credit scores is ‘utilization’ — i.e., the proportion of your total available credit that is currently in use. Lower is better, and there’s two ways to decrease it. One is to minimize the amount that you owe. The other is to increase your available credit (or at least to not cancel existing, but unused lines). Either approach has pretty much the same impact on your utilization, so either approach can help your credit score. How’s that for vexing?

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