(no subject)
More money issues. I've been strongly encouraging (trying not to go off the deep end with nagging) David to go in to get pre-approved for a mortgage, since this is a required first step now even to start looking at houses. He keeps putting it off, though now he says he will do it next week when he gets back from the Kentucky Derby trip. I don't know why he can't do it before he goes, because the unknown of it all is making me paranoid--I would feel so much better if we just had a number. Anyway, last week we were talking, and he said he had never pulled his credit score or even requested a copy of his credit report. It had been a while since I had pulled my own credit score, so I went and signed up for this thing on a Suze Orman-related website that's free for 30 days. It took 5 minutes, so he went ahead and signed up for the same thing and got his too. So then we both had our credit scores--he qualified for the best mortgage rates, and mine was
the one below. Great, and now we have 30 days to play around with this website before it charges us $90 each for a year's subscription.
But then yesterday I got an email from the website that said my credit score went up by 27 points. This puts me in the best mortgage rate category. I know the reason for this change is because a couple weeks ago, I shut down one of my credit cards because the bank was jacking up my interest rate for no reason--locking up the old card kept the old interest rate, and it wasn't like I was using it for new purchases anyway. They opened a new card at a lower interest rate with a maximum balance that matched the remaining balance on the previous card. (Having to do this annoys me, because I wish I could just get all of the credit card balances paid off sooner without having to play these games. But it should just be another year and everything will be paid off.) My credit score jumped up because of the change in my debt-to-credit ratio, but I found it so interesting to get that immediate feedback, now I'm tempted to pay the $90 just so I can keep it.
Dang, but that's a big chunk of change that I could, of course, spend on paying off a credit card.
Also, knowing that my credit score just jumped up makes me tempted to go see what I could get on a pre-approval for a mortgage myself. Of course, I'm not prepared to actually take one out, since I don't have any kind of down payment saved. But I'm curious about it, and I also think that me getting a pre-approval might encourage David to get his, sort of like blazing a trail through the financial wilderness. The inquiry on my credit would probably make my score take a hit, though hopefully not too much of one. Looking at it this way, I don't think I am ready to take out a mortgage by myself. Maybe I feel a little more sympathetic towards David's nervousness because of this. On the other hand, if I had zero debt like he has, I would feel a heck of a lot less hesitation.
the one below. Great, and now we have 30 days to play around with this website before it charges us $90 each for a year's subscription.
But then yesterday I got an email from the website that said my credit score went up by 27 points. This puts me in the best mortgage rate category. I know the reason for this change is because a couple weeks ago, I shut down one of my credit cards because the bank was jacking up my interest rate for no reason--locking up the old card kept the old interest rate, and it wasn't like I was using it for new purchases anyway. They opened a new card at a lower interest rate with a maximum balance that matched the remaining balance on the previous card. (Having to do this annoys me, because I wish I could just get all of the credit card balances paid off sooner without having to play these games. But it should just be another year and everything will be paid off.) My credit score jumped up because of the change in my debt-to-credit ratio, but I found it so interesting to get that immediate feedback, now I'm tempted to pay the $90 just so I can keep it.
Dang, but that's a big chunk of change that I could, of course, spend on paying off a credit card.
Also, knowing that my credit score just jumped up makes me tempted to go see what I could get on a pre-approval for a mortgage myself. Of course, I'm not prepared to actually take one out, since I don't have any kind of down payment saved. But I'm curious about it, and I also think that me getting a pre-approval might encourage David to get his, sort of like blazing a trail through the financial wilderness. The inquiry on my credit would probably make my score take a hit, though hopefully not too much of one. Looking at it this way, I don't think I am ready to take out a mortgage by myself. Maybe I feel a little more sympathetic towards David's nervousness because of this. On the other hand, if I had zero debt like he has, I would feel a heck of a lot less hesitation.