How to Boost Your Credit Score

This is Doug Hastings, VP of Moody radio and were thankful for support from our listeners, and businesses like United faith mortgage.

My best friend is blessed with three kids in a big house all the kids have their own rooms, but recently life in a bagel house is been different. In an effort to solve kid boredom.

My friend, but when those massive blue tarps and created a full room tent in the spare bedroom. They put each of the kids mattresses under the tent in the shape of a T and every night for now, five weeks the kids have slept with their heads, feet apart and set of rooms apart, it's Ryan from United faith mortgage and when I see a home. I can help with the interest rates, escrows, and trying to help listeners pay the least amount possible. But for me that story was a needed reminder that it doesn't matter whether our homes are big or small it only matters whether willing to enjoy the little things that God gave us today like a tarp tent. If you happen to be looking for a new place to put up a tarp of your own. We are United faith mortgage United faith mortgage is a DBA of United mortgage Corp. 25 Millville Park Rd., Melville, NY. Licensed mortgage banker for licensing information, go to an MLS consumer access.org corporate and MLS number 1330. Equal housing lender not licensed in Alaska, Hawaii, Georgia, Massachusetts, North Dakota, South Dakota and Utah and plenty of companies claim they can boost your credit score for a price. Summer scam.

Some are legitimate away. Just fibroblast truth is there's nothing anyone credit score that you can't do yourself and should be doing will talk about that but it's on to your calls at 800-525-7000 800-525-7000. This is moneywise live help you see money from God's perspective better steward of his resources exactly well. It's a single number, usually between 308 50 that essentially tells a prospective lender how good a risk you are, how likely you will be to repay the money loaned to you as agreed on time and in full that five factors make up your score.

Your payment history. 35% amounts owed 30% of the length of payment history 15%.

The different types of credit accounts 10%, and finally new credit is the remaining 10%. If that seems like a lot to remember good news. You don't have to. In fact, you just have to remember and do two things to improve your credit score you ready first pay every bill that comes in on time.

Simple enough right that we should always do that anyway. Let's go to God's word. King Solomon writes in Proverbs 327 do not withhold good from those to whom it is due when it is in your power to do it very simple and yet something we all need to heed. Second, never use more than 30% of your available credit in any account. Do those two things, and in time you'll have a very healthy credit score that will get you a favorable interest rate and terms when you apply for a loan. Now let's take a closer look at those two things you must do for a high credit score pay everything on time. This is extremely important because again it's the single largest factor making up your score is 35% paying all your bills on time means just that, not just credit cards but even things like utility bills and rent those transactions may be reported to the credit bureaus just like credit card transactions at most major scoring companies including pico and Vantage score. The two most popular. Put the heaviest emphasis on timely payments when determining your score. A single 30 day late payment probably won't do much lasting damage to your score.

But you might get hit with a late fee but consistent late payments of 30 days will drag your score down significantly paying 60 days late will definitely hurt your credit score, especially if you get into a habit of paying that late, and of course paying 90 days late. Does even more damage and will take longer to repair the damage all late payments stay on your credit reports for seven years, although they do the most damage when their recent when you begin to consistently pay on time. Your score will gradually recover. Now there are things you can do to make sure you pay on time I would get on a budget that ensures you'll always have enough to pay your bills then set up automatic payments from your checking account.

Most banks now enable you to do that if you prefer to pay manually, you can set up payment reminders setting a reminder a few days before the due date allows time to transfer money to the creditor so that's what you need to know about paying your bills on time now about using less than 30% of your available credit. This is the second biggest factor influencing your score and mostly applies to credit cards of the credit scoring companies look at it two ways. First, for each account you have and then for all of your credit accounts combined, but all you really need to remember is never have a balance more than 30% on any credit card. Of course, you should never have any balance on a credit card instead pay off the entire balance in full each month to avoid paying any interest. The 30% figure is just a good rule of thumb of the lower your balance on each card.

The higher your credit score will be. If you find yourself in a tough spot financially and you have to temporarily run a balance on a credit card, many issuers now allow you to set alerts so you are notified when you're approaching the 30% mark another trick when carrying a balance is to make several smaller payments during the month. Instead of making the full payment due amount at the end of the billing cycle that will lower your credit usage ratio and probably reduce the amount you owe him interest to so those are the two things you need to know and do to raise your score. Pay your bills on time and never use more than 30% of available credit. Your calls or next.

800-525-7000 800-525-7000 on Rob West. Stay with us back to moneywise live on Rob West to hose today and every day diving into God's word and understanding how we can apply his truths to your financial life. Of course, will be taking your calls as well. Here's number 800-525-7000 you know there's an unlimited number of ways we can use God's money, but didn't really all boils down into superior simple principles you see when we understand that God owns it all and where his manager and that money is a tool to accomplish his purposes. It changes everything, because every spending decision becomes ultimately a spiritual decision. It reflects what we value and then we go to God's word. We see these principles that he provides for us about how we should manage his money are simple, we should live well within our means. We should avoid the use of debt, because that mortgage is the future we should set long-term goals because the longer term our perspective, the better our decision today. We should have some liquidity or margin in our financial life and we should give generously because that breaks the power or the grip of money over our lives and we get that right and place it all under his Lordship, here's my experience is that it causes that causes us to have a more intimate relationship with him. Everything else just seems to work better when we put this area in proper perspective. While that's what we want to help you do today. Whether it's giving questions, saving, looking toward the future.

Maybe you're just starting out or trying to get that credit score figured out whatever it is, give us a call. We got a few lines open 800-525-7000. Let's start today in Illinois. Eddie your first on the broadcaster read the ground, I'm retired. Oh, and I have are. So I was just wondering how much federal taxes should I pick out that account when I take money out.

Yes. Well, the typical amount that it's withheld is 10%. That's typically what the plan administrator might withhold automatically unless you ask for something different. The reason the default withholding rate is 10%, though, is that it's generally a pretty good measure of the eventual tax liability that a typical taxpayer will owe on IRA distributions. If you're in a low tax bracket and don't have a lot of other income than withholding that 10% amount can be a reasonable starting point. Obviously you may need to withhold more and even pay in more.

One approach would be Eddie is to look at your effective tax rate basically for an individual.

That's just the total tax you paid. The last time you filed divided by your total taxable income that's going to give you a percentage that's essentially your effective tax rate and you can apply that effective tax rate to these withholdings as well. I would always encourage, especially if this is something you're just starting to do. Perhaps this is the first time you're taking money out of an IRA in this season. Maybe where there's been a reduction in income or a change in your income status. A good time to connect with a professional who can guide you. Make sure your withholding the proper amount paying it in on a timely basis and there's not any surprises when you file your return, but hopefully that at least gives you a starting point. We appreciate your call today, next to Cleveland, Ohio Joanna, you're next on the program. Karen and retired three years, but still works a little bit and I work part time and I'm 65, and we wanted to gather the stock market when things are kinda crazy and I know it probably take that right all these years and got glad that we have a night next day. Can we get didn't want to lose it.

So now probably 10% of it on the market, but most of it.

It's getting out well probably happened. It is an annuity 40 percentage sitting in cash and just getting in like Fidelity and Schwab wanted to handle it but they want to charge 1% of that and that's unicycle money. We don't want to even spend and so we don't now I know they had like a low blow advised there.

We don't know and thanks rates are just a low right doesn't look like the Fed is going to do anything with interest rates and we just don't know what to do. It yeah yeah well you is a lot of folks in your situation. Joanna works of the Lord is allowed you to build up a substantial nested figure in a pretty good spot in terms of your income being covered and now you just want to be a good steward of what God has entrusted to you want to see it grow modestly but at the same time you don't want to take unnecessary risk, especially now 12 years into a bull market. When we know that to the economy is restarting's organ have incredible growth economically this year. Perhaps the most in 20 years we got all the stimulus out there, but that's can work its way through the system at some point, this economy will rollover it's always cyclical and you want to be able to weather a downturn, especially if it lasted a couple years before it recovered and I would think that any downturn, we would experience in the future would recover. I don't see anything that would cause us to think we should be alarmed that you know all of things things around us are going to come crumbling down as some might suggest, but you want to be prudent and that's obviously what you're getting at run through some numbers with me in and let me just ask you a few questions. The first would be is your income in fact covered.

Apart from these investable assets yet okay and what you have accumulated in total separate the annuities from the non-annuity investments in air, probably not including annually probably close to pick 700,000 and you said about 10% of that is in stocks. About 70,000 is a right now I stocks left-leaning totally take it all out.

We did most of that and out. I left my small 401(k) at my job I could muster that out annuity about three years ago I laughed like 40,000 in the air and now he probably still have maybe 50,000, and not in account for in the stock market. So yeah, about 100 and between a sore great Barnett Chatsworth about 400,000. I love you guys have obviously been doing a lot of things right that we have roughly and annuities. In addition to the 700,000 in cash about stocks 600,000 and are you happy with the annuity product you feel like you understand it, does it have the proper safeguards on the downside where that particular portion of your assets you're comfortable with or do you have some questions about that as well. Annuities we have a good Christian and I totally worked with on our annuity so rightly felt pretty good about that excellence.

Well, you know, I think, with regard to the 700,000 thereabout. You know you're doing the right thing in the sense that you got your income covered. Obviously, the Lords allowed you to accumulate the substantial nested egg.

You don't need the money right now, but you may want to do some additional giving now or down the road you might want to pass on an inheritance you wanted to be there if you had some major medical expenses you needed some long-term care. Something like that and so you wanted to grow but you want to be conservative if we were to have a major recession hit in stocks took a 35% hit, which that's typically the number I would use to make sure you would be comfortable losing at least on paper that amount with whatever portion is allocated to stocks while you wait for it to recover you.

I think that's a good barometer. So I would typically as a starting point, save for somebody in your position, perhaps out of that 700,000. Think in terms of putting 30%. At the risk of the stock market. So in this case would be about 210,000 thereabout and the idea would be even if that took 30, 35%.

Deb, you wouldn't touch it. You would let that go and you would wait for the market to recover which it always has and if you needed to draw money out for any unexpected reason.

You take it out of the rest of the portfolio. The roughly half $1 million that I would say should be in other fixed income type investments, bonds, corporate and government bonds. Perhaps some tips treasury inflation protected securities or governments know whatever it is that gives you peace of mind but yet gives you a little bit more income, more yield than you might get from let's say a high-yield savings account or CD which is you've Artie acknowledged her very very low right now but the benefit of that 30% in stocks is that during the rest of the years when it's moving higher like it has the last 12+ that's going to provide some additional growth. So the overall portfolio can do better than you know for two or 3% you might know, look to get for five or 6% annualized a year because of those two pieces but I would recommend that you get a professional to help you do that in 1% is a management fee is very common, very typical, and here's the way I look at it. You've spent your entire life building this nest egg. It's not something to put on autopilot. I think having somebody who's able to hear you out.

Know what your goals and objectives are know what God's doing this season of life and help to guide you so you don't take any unnecessary risk. And yet you're still getting a reasonable rate of return so you can keep God's money working for you in the kind of portfolio that I'm describing.

That would be well worth. In my view, 1% a year to have somebody do that if they're gonna get to know you and give you the proper communication and deploy a strategy that you all feel like you can have some peace of mind with but give me your thoughts on now sitting in the bank and doing nothing there so I don't know if you know it. I identically go talk to an advisor they would give us that proper information like I can.

We do have an advisor about both Fidelity and Schwab. There are leaders and now with the 1% standard and you know very reasonable for that amount of money and and I think there's nothing wrong with keeping at least a years worth of expenses in cash and cash equivalents like you have with that the 200,000 but I think beyond that deploying it in a strategy that makes sense. That's generating some income has some growth potential is the right approach so you can either go back to your current advisor or connect with another advisor or two.

We recommend always someone who has the certified kingdom advisor designation can find a CPA there in Cleveland.

Visit our website moneywise live.org click find the CK calls after this breaking 525-7000 moneywise live on Rye West. So glad to have you along with us today taking your calls on any financial topic, here's the number we have open lines 800-525-7000.

Whether it's giving your dad perhaps you want to talk about your investments. Your credit score. Whatever it might be. We want to apply God's truth to your situation. We can do it together give us a call 800-525-7000. Let's take a quick email.

We do take from our community which you can find in the moneywise app in your app store or those that come in by email. We take a question usually try to do one per broadcast that we received from you and answer it on the air, if you'd like to submit your question again. You can download the moneywise app or you can email us at questions@moneywise.org. This one comes from Kathy and Jim they write. Hey Rob were looking to refinance. Do you have any rules we should consider before we make the big decision then I just happen to have some approvals for you to consider.

Kathy and Jim, first of all I would want to make sure that that you're going to save at least a point and 1/4 to a point and 1/2 on the interest rate before you proceed. I'd love for you to be able to stay in that home, but at least your plan would be 5 to 7 years following the refinance.

Obviously things can change. But at least that would be your intention going into it. I want you to match the remaining term or short minutes of you have 25 years remaining. Let's look for a 25 year loan 20 would be even better. I'd love for you to get three bids before you select your new mortgage while the people for what is the largest transaction.

They will ever make only get one offer. I don't think that's a good approach and I'd like to add to that, perhaps, two of the three should come from online lenders where you'll typically get the best offers to go to bank rate.com to check out who has the best deals right now and then, finally, make sure you check the fees and expenses on that refi like for you not to spend more than 2% of the mortgage value in closing costs if it's a lot higher than that. It could be that they're requiring you to buy the rate down, but with 30 year rates between 2.6 and 2.9% right now and 15 year rates below 2% up to 2.25 you should be able to get if you have good credit, a very good rate and still keep those closing costs less than 2%. So Kathy and Jim.

We hope that helps you again. If you have a question you'd like to submit us will try to get it on the air.

questions@moneywise.org back to the phones. Janet's in Austin, Texas hello Janet, thank you for calling the Reddit credit card for years and I don't really you will see it again in March and so, my credit running pretty good but still I'm 51 years old and I hate annual fee just to keep this card that I don't really use our should I close the car yeah I would definitely close that card. I really don't like paying annual fees for cards, even those that have tremendous rewards I'd be looking for one that has zero annual fee.

Keep in mind they're getting paid from the merchant rebate when you use the card and I realize you said you're not using it and that's why in the fine print. There is a period of time where if you don't use it after a certain number of months, though automatically close it but there is really no reason today to be paying any kind of annual fee even if it's a rewards card, especially if you're not using the card that's an expense you can recoup right back into your budget so I close the account switch to a card with no fee and to find that card I would either go to bank rate.com or I go to nerd while, by the way, one of my favorites right now that I just switch to is the fidelity rewards card. It's great to percent back on every purchase so long as it gets credited to a brokerage account. I use it to save for college kids, so check that one out. No fee to percent back on Molokai, bank rate.com' Frank Morgan calls right around the corner.

800-525-7000. This is money what God's word is applied to financial decision. Stay with us back to moneywise live on West your hosting survey along with us today taking your calls and questions at 800-525-7000. We have some open lines 800-525-7000 right back to the phones to PQ, Kansas, jailing welcome to the broadcast. All yeah I will call okay great I was, what the money I have made my bank account.

I was swimming with me and in my credit score I was wondering about that okay what is it you're looking to do with that money.

At this point is that money that you're going to try to hang onto for emergency savings you want to pay down some data, you looking to do some getting what you have in mind what is it really is Lord money out trying to see what I need to because of me really stamp packages and no doubt they'll stick out this kind getting it in and they were deposited in my account. Yes, you do you have some savings right now some emergency savings separate from this money you're describing to me from the stimulus taking okay now okay very good. Well you I would see this money is a real blessing. That's part of God's provision to you regardless of how it ultimately gets to you and you know we generally recommend jailing that you have at least 3 to 6 months worth of expenses in a liquid savings account. I prefer a high-yield savings account like markets or capital one or something like that. Ally Bank it's gonna pay you right now about .6% so little more than 1/2 of 1%.

The idea would be that if you had an unexpected expense and emergency that comes up beyond what you are able to cover out of your monthly check that you receive on disability that would be what this money is for. And so I'd love for you to just hang onto that and let it sit there and that savings accounts if you need it. You've got it for that purpose. And if you want to check out one of those again you could go to Ally Bank. You could go to Marcus capital one 360 you could link that right up to your checking account move that money in there and just your market for emergencies. So if you need something you could just transfer it over electronically. So look at this is a great opportunity to replenish if you will that emergency savings account. We appreciate your call today 800-525-7000 is another call with your questions today on to Chicago, Illinois. Best welcome to the broadcast.

Thank you. I'm so glad you were able to take my car when a haircut now back to let me calling it now, employees that my job at Abbey Chi 70 years old and I got money like $25,000 that they had bank for me on that Capulet lexicon that I hadn't used so they found it over to the company. I think this boy yet and I want and I don't know what to do with it because he said I can investigate if not effect when it must invest the money and I could take at any time, but they will charge me 20% to take it out so I just think really pianist which I'm confused. I don't know what to do with the 25,000 now yeah yeah's this is this is money that you don't need right now is that right that correct yeah okay well the first thing to understand is what type of account. It is phenotypically when you're eligible for sick leave pay you get your benefit from your employer, and it's included in your federal taxable income. So you have to pay income taxes on the money you receive is sick leave you.

It depends on if it's been moved into an account on a pretax basis than what they're talking about is you when you take it out. It's gonna be added to your taxable income and so they're gonna withhold 20% kind of as a starting point and then you'll settle up with the government. When you file your tax return.

That's what's being described there. Otherwise, it would just be paid out to you and perhaps could be moved into a taxable account and then it would just be added to your taxable income that they report to you and to the IRS at the end of the year. In either case, if you don't need the money. The first question is your do you have some emergency savings just like I talked to Jay Leno about do you have somewhere between three and six months expenses in setting separately.

This you did great okay so this is just truly extra and so if you wanted to put this to work you could leave it right there. It void you and connect with somebody or you've got some other options you could use one of the Robo advisors we talk about here on the program for those with a smaller amount of money. Schwab has the swab intelligent portfolios very low cost very properly diversified ETF portfolios you could use betterments would be another one, or Vanguard, or you can visit with our friends@soundmindinvesting.org to get a biblical perspective on how to manage God's money using mutual funds, but you could also just keep it right there best and connect with one of the investment advisors that void and just asked them to help you place this in a in a portfolio that reflects your goals and objectives. Are you not taking too much risk, but the money is still working for you.

The ideas that it's growing modestly so if you needed it down the road for something unexpected beyond what your emergency fund would cover you have the ability to tap into this account so I would take one of those approaches either connect with somebody at FOIA look at one of the Robo advisors like the swab intelligent portfolios or head over to soundbite investing.org to learn more about how they can assist you. We appreciate your call very much today south to Florida.

We welcome Florence to the broadcast.

Karen hi Mike, I wanted to cut hell on the previous collar to go that she'd taken money out of the stock market and I appreciate your comment about the financial reset McIsaac also think there's going, but my financial advisor doesn't seem to agree on. I wondered if if I should take some time.

My retirement fund out of the stock market for Florida time and if not dead would it be wise to invest in gold or bitcoin I see. Sure, I appreciate that's large. A couple of thoughts mean you what I'm describing is not to do some kind of impending doom for me. A kind but probably more of a cyclical rollover that we typically see if you go back over the last hundred years, you'll see the just about every 10 years since not always, in 10 year cycles.

We see the economy. No slowdown, and it can often result in a recession, or more, but it's typically short-lived and in every case, the market has moved to higher ground, so I wouldn't advise you to do anything differently today than I would have advised you to do. Let's say five years ago when we were only no halfway through this current bull market that we been in that had a brief blip with the pandemic last March, but I wouldn't advise you to do anything different today than you would have then because keep in mind as long as you're invested with the right investment mix that's appropriate for your age and risk tolerance your goals and objectives with us at the center of that what God is leading you to do with his resources, then you should be able to weather any financial store because you're living within your means and your paying down your debt and your investing for the long term. Even in the retirement season you know were still thinking 20 or 30 years out of the Lord to reason you have good health but we get more conservative and we take the stock exposure down so that if we got into a prolonged recession in two or three years, and it may be another five years before that happens, nobody knows, but you'd be able to weather that wait for it to come back and not have to sell anything at a loss to be able to just let it recover over time so that would be the way I would go I wouldn't overweight in gold or bit and I limit my exposure in gold the 5% I stay away from the point that helps the policy will be that much more 525 back to moneywise live by God's word, today's decisions to be along with this broadcast today you consider becoming a moneywise live rely on listener support to do what we do every day not only hear on the radio but also through the moneywise Alpine on the web with our moneywise coaches volunteers serving hundreds and thousands of people every year through individual coaching email coaching all of the tools and resources we build, we can only do it through your financial support were so thankful for each of you to partner with us on a monthly or one-time basis, and if you prayerfully consider doing that we would certainly appreciate it. You can head over to moneywise live.org just click the donate button at the top of the page. Again, that's moneywise live.org click donate and that we would certainly be grateful back to the phones we go to Indianapolis, Indiana dog, you're next on the program. Go ahead. My daughter is graduating high in the fall and between the scholarship and not tell financial help from doubt be short about 10,000 a year or years. My question and what it thought on straight out taking cover that or taking out alone in her name, where we would cosign on interest until she graduates and then we would help her pay that. Is there any pros and cons that we think the latter would help build her credit, yeah. What was the first option you were looking parent plus loan just to take out yet. Wait, that's correct okay yeah you're going to get a better interest rate with this loan in her name and around believe just under 3%. Where is the parent plus loans are to be up over five here's the thing, I think, in either case, you've decided you are going to step in and help to pay this for her or with her if there's some expectation up so I think doing that in her name with the federal student loan getting the very best rate but agreeing that you all would gonna be the backstop. There would be a great option. You're right, it would help to build her credit. I think the other thing to consider is that you just need to make sure there's real clarity on the front and open communication with her as to expectations. Is this something you all intend to pay in full for her.

Is this a shared responsibility.

Once she graduates and gets a job kind of break that down so there's no confusion and I think the key which is why the Bible warns so strongly against cosigning is you need to be ready, willing and able to step in and take care of this. If for some reason she can't because last thing we want is theirs to be some relational damage or financial damage on your or her part as a result of her inability to pay as she's just getting started. So I think that's the real thing to be careful for, but in terms of which loan to go for. I would go for the one in her name with the very best interest rate now. I don't think so Don and I appreciate you all thinking through it and tell her congratulations on the scholarship she's received. Let's head to Chicago, Illinois. Felicia, your next on the program.

Go ahead calling because I was inquiring about refinancing my home I read financing from the original longing without one now have a 4.5 interest rate it with a conventional bomb and I all or thousand dollars left on it.

On the home is worth about hundred and $39,000 and I looked at the beginning the year at the credit union, the federal credit union and I think the interest rate I wanted was about 3% for a 20 year loan.

Yes, but I only have about 10 years less, so I was at that time.

I think I was only going to save about $5000 of the lack of the long and the original origination fee. I think with either 2000 to 2500 and I was assured that even make sense to refinance. Yeah, it doesn't. Unless you're going to pay it off well in 10 years which you could do with a 20 year mortgage. But I'd be concerned that you would just pay the minimum and then you really taking a lot of that savings and you're chewing it out by doubling the term of the mortgage. Have you looked at a 10 year mortgage at 64,000+ expenses to see how that would compare in terms of the monthly payment look at it.

I don't have 10 years left on right right on the long opinion that right.

What is that that were receiving in terms of interest rates on the 10 year about 33%. If not, make it now is that you get in the year might've been a high Q3 percent maybe yeah if you have a good credit score. Felicia, you should do a lot better than that your tenure rates right now you should be seeing it a 1.9 roughly built under 2% in some cases for tenure mortgage, certainly not more than 2 1/4 so I think that's really the opportunity for you is to go out and look for a new 10 year mortgage loans you plan to stay in this home. You could save in this case more than 2 1/2% a year.

In the interest rate you wouldn't be extending the term one bit because you got 10 years remaining to be replacing it with a new tenure mortgage and I just make sure that you don't spend more than 2% or around $1200 in closing costs. But if you could find that I'd be totally in favor of that.

I go to bank rate.com to look for the very best programs right now at 10 years and you know any any mortgage lender you apply with in a 14 day period is gonna be considered one in terms of the number of inquiries that impact your credit score so I get at least three bids from three competing lenders that look like they have very aggressive terms and rates right now and I think you're a great candidate to refinance and then get that thing paid off as quick as you can enjoy being completely debt-free. We appreciate your call today on the central PA Anne-Marie your next on the program. Go ahead jerk told you were talking about a way to work and one of them what to do about your credit card. Not happy 30% of your available my nightly payer card on all every month but unlike the day before we pay it. It might be able to increase or should we like every week or every other week that Alan Lowell yeah what is your credit score and really checked recently. Yeah okay you know it really we don't have so okay very good you know it. I don't think it's going to make much difference. I mean, you're right. The reported balance prior to you paying it off is what's reported to the credit bureau and that's can be looked at. Two ways this can be looked at my account to say what percent is this balance prior to you paying it. Of the total limit into your point. It's often 60 or 70%, which is certainly above the 30% target and then it's can be looked at in the aggregate.

So if you have other open revolving accounts that you're not using some older credit cards or something like that.

It will be looked at in light of the total available credit, you may say why don't have those so you know it's limited just to this one, but keep in mind it, it's both factors. But here's the bottom line, you know, I don't think it's worth it for you. Anything over 747 50 you're going to qualify for the very best terms and rates no matter what you apply for and at this point in your life, you're probably not out there looking to take on a lot more debt or even qualify for a for new loans, and so I think you know sitting there with high 700 score. Even if you were to know open a few more credit cards you know and then get this update 20 rate 30. I just don't think it's gonna make that much difference for you and if you do that, it's can open you up to additional potential fraud somebody compromising an account that you're not really watching because you're not using it.

I just don't like open accounts sitting around that you're not monitoring so I probably just stick with it. Anne-Marie even though yes there's a potential you could get this up above 800. I don't think it's can make much difference for you. Does it make sense already we appreciate your call today.

God bless you are of final call today is going to be Flory in Boynton Beach Florida grid right now.

I I see. So are you currently saving for retirement somewhere else now I'm trying to tell. I had I I see in the 50% you say that would go toward this investment property is that in a taxable account okay this just in cash currently is that right yeah well I mean there's the real estate is a very effective way to build wealth and can be an income stream for his long as you do it right. You need to go in with your eyes wide open understand what you're getting into.

It certainly not a passive investment by any means. It's can require you to marketed and be a landlord and take care of the maintenance and deal with any problems that come up when a tenant moves out, you gotta replace him and you know make sure the properties been taken care of, so there's a lot that goes into it so I would just be careful and know what that means for you. Make sure you have the time and interest to commit to it. But if not, if you're comfortable with that. It could be a great tool for you to supplement your income and I love the fact that you're planning to be debt-free by retirement appreciate your call today for us today. Thank you so much for listening want to say thank you to my team Rios producing today.

Dan Anderson, engineering Jim Henry providing research Eric screening our calls today moneywise. Life is a partnership between money radio and moneywise media will be back tomorrow to do it all over again. I hope