Credit Score, More Important than Ever

photo credit: me and the sysop

We all know that the days of easy credit are long gone. Lately I’ve been reading about more and more people losing their lines of credit, having limits cut, or interest rates raised.

When we had this happen with Chase, we took action. You can and should if it happens to you. No one should be at the whim of credit card companies feeling they can change anything at any time.

The reason Chase gave us for upping our interest rate was the “tough economic times.” Call me crazy but I thought as a valued customer, one the credit card company might want to keep, they would focus on keeping my business, and great customer service. Apparently their plan is to kick everyone when they are down.

Monitoring your credit score is more important than ever, as credit companies are taking a hard look at anyone with scores below 700 (some even taking a hard look 750 and below). Remember that your credit score can also effect things such as auto insurance, life insurance, job applications, etc.

My favorite tool for monitoring my credit score is Credit Karma. It is absolutely free, since they have offers from advertisers to “save” you money, and it is 100% secure. The best part is they send you a monthly reminder to check your score.

You could pay $8 (or more) to access your score from one of the major companies, but why spend money when you don’t have to?

As we are paying down debt we have seen our scores inch higher slowly. That is a super motivating feeling to see not only our overall debt shrink, but our credit scores inch up.

Do you know your credit score? Do you check it regularly?

Kelly

Chase raises our rates

Squeaky Wheel: Chase Edition

About Kelly

Kelly Whalen is the founder of The Centsible Life, a blog where motherhood and money meet. Her goal is to help readers live well on less. Kelly is a mom to 4, and loves that she can stay at home with her kids, and still pursue her passions for writing, personal finance, and social media. You can often find her on twitter and Facebook talking money and motherhood.

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http://rainydaypennies.net Cathy

I don’t carry a balance anymore, so I’m not too worried about a drop. BoA is one of my older cards (having acquired it from MBNA), I opened it in 1993. I have another card that I like much better that I’ve had open since 1994. I don’t ever use my BoA card anymore. I’d like to send them a message that I’m firing them, and that I am still using a card from a company that is treating me as a valued customer.
http://rainydaypennies.net/ Cathy

I don’t carry a balance anymore, so I’m not too worried about a drop. BoA is one of my older cards (having acquired it from MBNA), I opened it in 1993. I have another card that I like much better that I’ve had open since 1994. I don’t ever use my BoA card anymore. I’d like to send them a message that I’m firing them, and that I am still using a card from a company that is treating me as a valued customer.
Kelly

Cathy, I think that’s would be a great letter.
Keep in mind Credit Karma uses TransUnion, so your credit score may still be effected, but personally I’d rather stop doing business with anyone so ruthless!

Crystal, glad you like Credit Karma! I think it’s a great tool, and like you said quick and easy.
Kelly

Cathy, I think that’s would be a great letter.
Keep in mind Credit Karma uses TransUnion, so your credit score may still be effected, but personally I’d rather stop doing business with anyone so ruthless!

Crystal, glad you like Credit Karma! I think it’s a great tool, and like you said quick and easy.
http://rainydaypennies.net Cathy

Credit Karma is great. According the simulations, closing my Bank of America cards will not affect my credit score at all. I’m going to be sending them a letter informing them due to changing conditions in the market and because of their high balance in taking a loan from the government, I regret that I will no longer be able to continue doing business with them.
http://rainydaypennies.net/ Cathy

Credit Karma is great. According the simulations, closing my Bank of America cards will not affect my credit score at all. I’m going to be sending them a letter informing them due to changing conditions in the market and because of their high balance in taking a loan from the government, I regret that I will no longer be able to continue doing business with them.
http://fashionablechristiangirl.blogspot.com Crystal

Sorry for the double post, but I just found the area of Credit Karma where you can “simulate” different scenarios and how it will affect your credit score. I also look forward to seeing my score move up as I pay off the rest of my debt. Such a cool website – I highly recommend it!!
http://fashionablechristiangirl.blogspot.com/ Crystal

Sorry for the double post, but I just found the area of Credit Karma where you can “simulate” different scenarios and how it will affect your credit score. I also look forward to seeing my score move up as I pay off the rest of my debt. Such a cool website – I highly recommend it!!
http://fashionablechristiangirl.blogspot.com Crystal

Hey Kelly! Thanks for the link to Credit Karma. I didn’t know such a website exsisted – what a valuable tool!!!
I just registered and received my credit score all within 1 minute.
Thanks again!
http://fashionablechristiangirl.blogspot.com/ Crystal

Hey Kelly! Thanks for the link to Credit Karma. I didn’t know such a website exsisted – what a valuable tool!!!
I just registered and received my credit score all within 1 minute.
Thanks again!
http://rainydaypennies.net Cathy

Bank of America did this to me. They sent me a letter that said due to my high balance, they were increasing my rate. Excuse me? I was never late on a payment. I was so angry!
http://rainydaypennies.net/ Cathy

Bank of America did this to me. They sent me a letter that said due to my high balance, they were increasing my rate. Excuse me? I was never late on a payment. I was so angry!