Comments on: Anatomy of a Credit Score http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2006/06/05/anatomy-of-a-credit-score/ personal finance that makes cents Thu, 20 Nov 2008 11:53:13 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Ask the Readers: What’s the Best Way to Compare Credit Cards? ? Get Rich Slowly http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2006/06/05/anatomy-of-a-credit-score/#comment-117476 Ask the Readers: What’s the Best Way to Compare Credit Cards? ? Get Rich Slowly Fri, 15 Feb 2008 14:05:35 +0000 http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2006/06/05/anatomy-of-a-credit-score/#comment-117476 [...] credit card account, even if he opens a new one. Keeping old credit card accounts open gives your credit score a boost. He should check his credit report every few months, though, to be sure there’s no [...] [...] credit card account, even if he opens a new one. Keeping old credit card accounts open gives your credit score a boost. He should check his credit report every few months, though, to be sure there’s no [...]

]]> By: Stop Planning: 50 Ways to Improve Your Finances Today | On Moneymaking http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2006/06/05/anatomy-of-a-credit-score/#comment-110727 Stop Planning: 50 Ways to Improve Your Finances Today | On Moneymaking Fri, 04 Jan 2008 23:32:30 +0000 http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2006/06/05/anatomy-of-a-credit-score/#comment-110727 [...] Pull your credit report and examine it for ways to improve your score (helping you get better [...] [...] Pull your credit report and examine it for ways to improve your score (helping you get better [...]

]]> By: Proper Care and Feeding of Your Credit Score ? Get Rich Slowly http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2006/06/05/anatomy-of-a-credit-score/#comment-87425 Proper Care and Feeding of Your Credit Score ? Get Rich Slowly Fri, 25 May 2007 14:27:53 +0000 http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2006/06/05/anatomy-of-a-credit-score/#comment-87425 [...] of credit you can obtain, and how much you will be charged in interest. Last year I described the anatomy of a credit score, explaining that it’s a single number derived from various pieces of information contained in [...] [...] of credit you can obtain, and how much you will be charged in interest. Last year I described the anatomy of a credit score, explaining that it’s a single number derived from various pieces of information contained in [...]

]]> By: How to get your credit score up, and how not to care | zen habits http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2006/06/05/anatomy-of-a-credit-score/#comment-83526 How to get your credit score up, and how not to care | zen habits Wed, 11 Apr 2007 09:01:15 +0000 http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2006/06/05/anatomy-of-a-credit-score/#comment-83526 [...] Get Rich Slowly: Anatomy of a Credit Score [...] [...] Get Rich Slowly: Anatomy of a Credit Score [...]

]]> By: Get Rich Slowly » The Only Credit Card Guide You’ll Ever Need http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2006/06/05/anatomy-of-a-credit-score/#comment-6033 Get Rich Slowly » The Only Credit Card Guide You’ll Ever Need Fri, 25 Aug 2006 16:24:04 +0000 http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2006/06/05/anatomy-of-a-credit-score/#comment-6033 [...] How does a credit score work? Your credit score is based on your payment history, the amount you currently owe, the length of your credit history, the types of credit you use, and your recent request for credit. For more information, check out my anatomy of a credit score. [...] [...] How does a credit score work? Your credit score is based on your payment history, the amount you currently owe, the length of your credit history, the types of credit you use, and your recent request for credit. For more information, check out my anatomy of a credit score. [...]

]]> By: The 100 by 30 project http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2006/06/05/anatomy-of-a-credit-score/#comment-5773 The 100 by 30 project Sun, 20 Aug 2006 21:20:17 +0000 http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2006/06/05/anatomy-of-a-credit-score/#comment-5773 <strong>Who inspired you to start a personal finance blog?...</strong> Personal finance had always seemed to be the domain of pedantic, manic, shrieking freaks (e.g. Jim Cramer). I had no interest in spending hours a day combing the Internet to try and find a savings rate that beat my current one by 0.05%. My aspirations ... Who inspired you to start a personal finance blog?…

Personal finance had always seemed to be the domain of pedantic, manic, shrieking freaks (e.g. Jim Cramer). I had no interest in spending hours a day combing the Internet to try and find a savings rate that beat my current one by 0.05%. My aspirations …

]]> By: Get Rich Slowly » Three Months of Getting Rich Slowly http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2006/06/05/anatomy-of-a-credit-score/#comment-4038 Get Rich Slowly » Three Months of Getting Rich Slowly Tue, 25 Jul 2006 20:26:50 +0000 http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2006/06/05/anatomy-of-a-credit-score/#comment-4038 [...] Anatomy of a credit score [...] [...] Anatomy of a credit score [...]

]]> By: Financial Fruition » Carnival of Personal Finance #52 http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2006/06/05/anatomy-of-a-credit-score/#comment-409 Financial Fruition » Carnival of Personal Finance #52 Mon, 12 Jun 2006 14:21:05 +0000 http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2006/06/05/anatomy-of-a-credit-score/#comment-409 [...] Anatomy of a Credit Score [...] [...] Anatomy of a Credit Score [...]

]]> By: inkling http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2006/06/05/anatomy-of-a-credit-score/#comment-269 inkling Tue, 06 Jun 2006 03:34:59 +0000 http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2006/06/05/anatomy-of-a-credit-score/#comment-269 I just pulled all three credit reports and bought the score from each of them. I had late payments years ago, but have paid off a mountain of debt over the past 18 months. They were quite different: - My TransUnion score was 756 which qualifies as "Fair to Good" (the scale is 400-925) - Experian was 903 or "Super Prime" (scale of 501-990) - Equifax FICO was 744 or "very good" (scale of 300-850) Obviously, TransUnion has a flawed model. Or at least that's what I'll tell my mortgage lender. :-) I just pulled all three credit reports and bought the score from each of them. I had late payments years ago, but have paid off a mountain of debt over the past 18 months. They were quite different:
- My TransUnion score was 756 which qualifies as “Fair to Good” (the scale is 400-925)
- Experian was 903 or “Super Prime” (scale of 501-990)
- Equifax FICO was 744 or “very good” (scale of 300-850)

Obviously, TransUnion has a flawed model. Or at least that’s what I’ll tell my mortgage lender. :-)

]]> By: dokaben http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2006/06/05/anatomy-of-a-credit-score/#comment-264 dokaben Mon, 05 Jun 2006 23:43:16 +0000 http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2006/06/05/anatomy-of-a-credit-score/#comment-264 I noticed this thread at Fatwallet on the cheapest way to get your FICO score: http://www.fatwallet.com/t/52/601699/ I was surprised to see comments on what a 'real' FICO is. Some say it's Equifax's score and everything else is a 'FAKO'. Others suggest they're all more or less the same. I noticed this thread at Fatwallet on the cheapest way to get your FICO score:

http://www.fatwallet.com/t/52/601699/

I was surprised to see comments on what a ‘real’ FICO is. Some say it’s Equifax’s score and everything else is a ‘FAKO’. Others suggest they’re all more or less the same.

]]> By: tiffany http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2006/06/05/anatomy-of-a-credit-score/#comment-256 tiffany Mon, 05 Jun 2006 21:27:59 +0000 http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2006/06/05/anatomy-of-a-credit-score/#comment-256 just to flesh out my last point... amount is important, only in relation to how much credit you have. not in real numbers. you can be $30K in the hole and still have a 700+ credit score. just to flesh out my last point… amount is important, only in relation to how much credit you have. not in real numbers. you can be $30K in the hole and still have a 700+ credit score.

]]> By: tiffany http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2006/06/05/anatomy-of-a-credit-score/#comment-255 tiffany Mon, 05 Jun 2006 21:26:35 +0000 http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2006/06/05/anatomy-of-a-credit-score/#comment-255 I disagree about the amounts owed portion. In my experience, your debt-to-credit ratio and/or the number of cards on which you have debt matters more. I disagree about the amounts owed portion. In my experience, your debt-to-credit ratio and/or the number of cards on which you have debt matters more.

]]> By: Dave http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2006/06/05/anatomy-of-a-credit-score/#comment-249 Dave Mon, 05 Jun 2006 20:48:06 +0000 http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2006/06/05/anatomy-of-a-credit-score/#comment-249 I have a credit card account through providian.com / wamucards.com and they provided a calculated FICO score and tracking. You can even have email alerts if your score changes 20 pts or so. I have a credit card account through providian.com / wamucards.com and they provided a calculated FICO score and tracking. You can even have email alerts if your score changes 20 pts or so.

]]> By: Mike A. http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2006/06/05/anatomy-of-a-credit-score/#comment-242 Mike A. Mon, 05 Jun 2006 15:22:49 +0000 http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2006/06/05/anatomy-of-a-credit-score/#comment-242 Good post. You should know that the credit score you get online can vary significantly from what a lender might see when they pull your credit. I used to work for a credit reporting agency that provided reports from the three bureaus to the mortgage industry and scores on those reports were generally lower than those a consumer would get online. This is because there are different scoring models which weigh scoring factors differently from consumer reports. The single best thing you can do to improve your credit score is to keep your credit card balances within 30% of your overall credit limit. Motley Fool has some great articles on credit including <a href="http://www.fool.com/news/commentary/2005/commentary05120601.htm" rel="nofollow">this one</a>. Good post. You should know that the credit score you get online can vary significantly from what a lender might see when they pull your credit. I used to work for a credit reporting agency that provided reports from the three bureaus to the mortgage industry and scores on those reports were generally lower than those a consumer would get online. This is because there are different scoring models which weigh scoring factors differently from consumer reports.

The single best thing you can do to improve your credit score is to keep your credit card balances within 30% of your overall credit limit.

Motley Fool has some great articles on credit including this one.

]]> By: J.D. http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2006/06/05/anatomy-of-a-credit-score/#comment-241 J.D. Mon, 05 Jun 2006 14:35:31 +0000 http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2006/06/05/anatomy-of-a-credit-score/#comment-241 MSN Money also has <a href="http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/Banking/Yourcreditrating/P136689.asp" rel="nofollow">a story</a> entitled "Anatomy of a Credit Score". You might want to check it out for additional info. MSN Money also has a story entitled “Anatomy of a Credit Score”. You might want to check it out for additional info.

]]> By: amsd2dth http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2006/06/05/anatomy-of-a-credit-score/#comment-239 amsd2dth Mon, 05 Jun 2006 12:40:30 +0000 http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2006/06/05/anatomy-of-a-credit-score/#comment-239 I listen to Dave Ramsey, and he makes the FICO people quite upset by stating that you don't need a score. Good thing, since I don't because I've never had a loan in my life and have always paid cash. Not having a score keeps me from obtaining credit cards and the like, which isn't actually a bad thing when I'm having a weak moment. It's too bad you need to be in debt to show that you can handle it. I listen to Dave Ramsey, and he makes the FICO people quite upset by stating that you don’t need a score. Good thing, since I don’t because I’ve never had a loan in my life and have always paid cash. Not having a score keeps me from obtaining credit cards and the like, which isn’t actually a bad thing when I’m having a weak moment. It’s too bad you need to be in debt to show that you can handle it.

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