duck9er - 99 Tips for College Students Credit
** Password to change anything is "fico750" **
This list is the equivalent of a dozen credit counseling books...some of these tips you can't find in books!
I learned as a credit industry insider
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Do not publicize these pages
Secret page #2 "template". Edit
Story: why don't banks send me a text when I'm about to get charged a late fee
SMS a reminder for cell overages or bill due
Two tiered justice system, one for good credit and one for bad
- Adding two tradelines and paying ontime for 24 months gets you a fico of 750
- Mortgage companies will report you late when you've less than 6 months left on a 5 year ARM
- Rewards cards are pretty much the worse credit products to pick. Do rewards cards after you're 24/25
- Dispute early and often
- Pay $25 if you owe zero (categorize this under hacking fico by adding in info)
- The three bureaus get paid to find and report negative activity on you
- You have zzeerroo rights if u call. You must write in
- Crop circles as the mysteries of credit scoring
- Never cancel an account. Keep it open and inactive. If you're anal, reduce the credit line to $2,000
- Manage your credit line. They'll push you to take $15k. Just take $2k
- Always dispute in writing (not email or by phone)
- When dealing with credit card companies, threaten to cancel but keep the account
- Pull your free credit reports via AnnualCreditReport.com
- Romancing away a late fee. ask them where they are. Only deal with good states. No foreign.
- Help someone else with their credit
- Start an anonymous wiki page that documents your FICO 750 efforts.
- Add a car loan to a car you already have paid off
- If you pay off your home, expect your FICO to drop 4050 points
- Buying a tradeline is a myth
- Removing inaccurate info is tough. Bureaus are paid to compile and sell negative info on you
- Disputes are easier over the holidays
- Disputes are impossible over the phone
- FCRA says
- FCBA says
- Use the disclosure box
- If you're in debt, post a thermometer to pay it down and track progress. No Hail Marys. No lottery tickets
- No rewards cards.
- Negotiate intelligently using scripts
- When applying for a mortgage, fax the lender your three reports
- When applying for a car loan, fax the lender your three reports. Never finance the thing at the dealership
- 702010. Richest man in Babylon
- Becareful of debt momentum; Owing $27,000 at 6% is great. Owing $1500 @ 16% is catastrophic.
- Debts swell christmas, spring break and summer
- If your parents let you use their credit card, build credit in your own name by getting a cc
- Understand 1s, 2s, 9s, and Xs (they mean inactivity).
- Augment your credit with trade lines that are filled with 24 1s in a row. 24 1s on two trade lines is a fico of 750
- Get organized with file folders (Experian, Equifax, Transunion, Bank#1, Bank #2, Car Loan, Checking Account/Debit Account, Savings Account)
- If you're gonna get ripped off, use your credit not debit card
- 70 20 10 your credit card debt down
- If your 70% is 0, you should never owe more than $800
- You should never have more that 3x in balance than you can pay off
- If you have debt, always know your APR, Minimum Payment and Due Date!
- Know that grace period goes to zero days if you don't pay your balance off in FULL
- Use the cancellation maneuvering IF you have two other visa cards
- Never ever ever cancel a credit card account. Never ever. Once you break up with them you no recourse and lose all leverage.
- Kill them with kindness.
- Write letters early and often
- Sole source at your own risk
- There are no good refinance deals on credit cards. If you do want to, get your credit report
- Multiple accounts so never sole source
- Never close a credit account
- Max in your credit report when you're buying a car/home
- Check your credit report once a year (august)
- Dispute items in November and December
- Predate letters 5 days and send them certified mail
- CC your attorney or cccs or CreditCard.org
- CCyou congressman when writing the bureaus
- CCthe FTC when disputing incorrect
- Have them proofread for free at creditCard.org
- Don't complain anonymously. Use your full name
- Dispute merchant fraud in writing. Calling preserves zero rights
- One merchant is so accustomed to defrauded people calling in that they give a cancellation code. When this merchant, which we'll refer to as FreeCreditReport.com, gets slapped with penalties by the FTC, it keeps doing the same thing because consumers a) want something free and b) won't dispute in writing when they get ripped off.
- Don't get emotional about money
- If you're complaining facetoface, their job is one thing... get your emotional ass out of the bank. Save your saturday afternoon and google a solution.
- Save your Saturday and spend it drafting a letter asap yelp.com/ and
- Google does a better job filing so complain to it. Post it to google via CreditCard.org
- Don't get sucked into the free tshirt syndrome
- Do nothing for free food.
- 100th monkey syndrome of credit
- Debit vs credit.
Create your own educational wiki!