Credit Scores /Paying Bills/Financial Habits

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
This popped into my head while reading Art's job interview description. I have never had my credit run just to apply for or attempt to get a job. I found it amazingly odd so I figured I would just see who else has had this done and how common it is in the employment world now.



The other thing is, as a landlord I get to see a LOT of credit reports. They show an amazing amount of information in some regards. So I wondered how many of you kept track of your credit scores, knew anything about how they work, wondered how accurate they were, etc. I find plenty of people have had their credit score lowered a couple hundred points because of a couple silly things they didn't know/think about.



For myself, I didn't have the greatest credit score just out of college. Seems that whole paying the bill on time thing wasn't something I was very used to with regard to money habits. I was never really more than 30 days late (or so I thought) but I was always paying the bills just a bit late out of neglect and pretty much uncaring laziness. I grew out of that pretty quickly when I saw how limiting it would be over the long term. However, when I read financial emails they say that plenty of people routinely pay a bill or two late and continue to do so through their entire lives.



I figured I just started with my parents habits, took an real interest in finances later (amazing how getting married gives you an "interest" in finances) and recovered from my/their bad habits early on. In fact I've read that most people just get their financial habits, much like their eating habits from, from their parents.



Got any good habits, credit tips, or bill pay down techniques you want to share?



Nick

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 7
    alcimedesalcimedes Posts: 5,486member
    i just got mine done when we bought our house. it was just a hair over 780. made the whole process a lot easier.



    i started using a credit card at 18, and just used it to buy gas for the car. easy to pay off, and kept me from overspending. also got me into the habit of paying off the credit card debt in full, every month.



    i also pay as many bills as possible online. i've found that i often times don't remember to pay bills until right before they're due, so instant payment is a big plus.
  • Reply 2 of 7
    carol acarol a Posts: 1,043member
    I have all my monthly bills set up on automatic pay.



    The only one not set up is my cable bill. I filled out the application for auto-pay right in their office, with a service adviser - and still they managed to lose it!



    So the cable bill I pay four months in advance - so I only have to think about it a few times per year.



    Car insurance - I drive past a Farmers Ins. office on the way home, so I just stop and pay it in person - for six months in advance.



    I pay my post office box a year in advance, and would pay three years in advance if they would let me. My last homeowner's dues I paid a year and a half in advance.



    I HATE paying bills, and do whatever I can to limit the time I have to spend doing it or even 'thinking' about it.



    In 1998 I got into the stock market, and for the next year my portfolio was 'up' between 85-96%. I was very smug and swaggered around. heh. When everything took a nosedive, I kept all my stocks - though I didn't look at any statements for like two years. (such cowardice! ) I couldn't face the carnage. Haven't looked at them for another year now...mainly because I'm in the market for the long haul, and like buying stocks that I never intend to sell. Some people might call that stupidity; but I prefer to think of it as faith in the market. (ever the optimist ).



    Have no idea what my credit score is. I imagine it's pretty good.
  • Reply 3 of 7
    artman @_@artman @_@ Posts: 2,546member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Carol A

    I have all my monthly bills set up on automatic pay.



    If I did that I'd be homeless. I won't ever have automatic or online billing ever anyway. Too damn risky for me. I'm living off family loans, scraps and measly paycheck to paycheck right now. It's terrifying.



    Also, I didn't get the job. But that's another rant...



  • Reply 4 of 7
    willoughbywilloughby Posts: 1,457member
    I've had my credit run for 3 jobs. One was with a large financial institution, one with the government and my most recent job.



    The first two were obvious but I don't see why my current employer needed to run my credit. \
  • Reply 5 of 7
    trumptmantrumptman Posts: 16,464member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Carol A

    I have all my monthly bills set up on automatic pay.



    The only one not set up is my cable bill. I filled out the application for auto-pay right in their office, with a service adviser - and still they managed to lose it!



    So the cable bill I pay four months in advance - so I only have to think about it a few times per year.



    Car insurance - I drive past a Farmers Ins. office on the way home, so I just stop and pay it in person - for six months in advance.



    I pay my post office box a year in advance, and would pay three years in advance if they would let me. My last homeowner's dues I paid a year and a half in advance.



    I HATE paying bills, and do whatever I can to limit the time I have to spend doing it or even 'thinking' about it.



    In 1998 I got into the stock market, and for the next year my portfolio was 'up' between 85-96%. I was very smug and swaggered around. heh. When everything took a nosedive, I kept all my stocks - though I didn't look at any statements for like two years. (such cowardice! ) I couldn't face the carnage. Haven't looked at them for another year now...mainly because I'm in the market for the long haul, and like buying stocks that I never intend to sell. Some people might call that stupidity; but I prefer to think of it as faith in the market. (ever the optimist ).



    Have no idea what my credit score is. I imagine it's pretty good.




    I can run credit scores. That's how I see so many.



    However most people have their credit ruined by the same entities over and over. At least from what I have seen this seems true.



    1) Paying chronically late, not horribly so, just everything 30 days late.

    2) The following entities are evil to your credit score as they will always send piddly crap to collections.



    a) Blockbuster Video

    b) Bally's or any other associated health spa that someone has "quit."

    c) Any cell phone company

    d) Any major medical emergency where you blew off the county

    e) Child Support

    f) Any unpaid utilities

    g) Anyone you bought jewelry for and then broke up.



    That would cover about 90+% of what I see that causes bad credit.



    As for me, I know what my credit score is, but I don't want people to feel like they have to disclose financial information in threads like this. It is about ideas for getting or keeping good credit. Thanks for contributing yours.



    Nick
  • Reply 6 of 7
    carol acarol a Posts: 1,043member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Artman @_@

    If I did that I'd be homeless. I won't ever have automatic or online billing ever anyway. Too damn risky for me. I'm living off family loans, scraps and measly paycheck to paycheck right now. It's terrifying.



    Also, I didn't get the job. But that's another rant...







    Dear Artman,



    I'm sorry about the job, but try not to be discouraged. If they didn't feel you were a 'fit' for their company, then maybe you weren't. Better for *you* that you don't work for a company that isn't a good fit. You might have been miserable there, or under a great deal of stress. Who knows? Try not to be bitter.



    When I first got out of college with my English degree, I interviewed for months - sometimes twice a day. I was qualified for everything and nothing, at the same time. Some of the jobs I *didn't* get were jobs I would never even have considered under normal circumstances, but I did so out of desperation. Toward the end, I did start to get bitter and cynical, and know this became somewhat apparent during interviews.



    Finally I took a secretary job working for a guy overseeing the building process of a resort hotel. Since I'm normally pretty optimistic, I enjoyed learning things about that business, enjoyed the people I met, and the insight I gained into the business world (even thought it was a job for a high school graduate, not a college graduate ). My boss was very nice (I think he had a crush on me ) and *I* had a crush on the top boss, who was a lawyer/investor.



    But eventually I decided to get certified to teach and did so, in order to use my degree in some practical fashion. I never wanted to teach, but became good at it and loved the kids.



    I mention all this in order to share my horrendous experience job-hunting. It was a grim and disheartening time. I guess what I learned is that one must be patient and hang in there...and continue to look for the positives in any situation.



    About your situation: I think it's great that you decided to go to the city for a year. That took courage and was a worthwhile plan. Maybe the problem is with that particular city. Out west I think you would have been snapped up - in the cities where growth is booming...like Las Vegas, Phoenix. Might be a good idea to google US cities with the fastest growth, because your talents would probably be in demand there.



    I think moving in with your sister would be a good idea, so that you could re-group and save some money for possible relocation to another state in the future. The eastern seaboard is not nearly as booming a place as some cities in the western US.



    Do you have any relatives out west? I'm not sure I would go to the coast, because those cities might have lots of people chasing few jobs. That's what you'll have to look into. Portland is totally gorgeous, and I imagine the economy is pretty good there.



    Make a list of your 'positives': the fact that that company called you up out of the blue, as someone pointed out, indicates that your credentials are attractive. List as many positives as you can, and then read the list when you are feeling discouraged. We are pulling for you, Artman. Hang in there.



    Sorry, trumptman, for hijacking your thread.
  • Reply 7 of 7
    carol acarol a Posts: 1,043member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by trumptman

    I can run credit scores. That's how I see so many.



    However most people have their credit ruined by the same entities over and over. At least from what I have seen this seems true.



    1) Paying chronically late, not horribly so, just everything 30 days late.

    2) The following entities are evil to your credit score as they will always send piddly crap to collections.



    a) Blockbuster Video

    b) Bally's or any other associated health spa that someone has "quit."

    c) Any cell phone company

    d) Any major medical emergency where you blew off the county

    e) Child Support

    f) Any unpaid utilities

    g) Anyone you bought jewelry for and then broke up.



    That would cover about 90+% of what I see that causes bad credit.



    As for me, I know what my credit score is, but I don't want people to feel like they have to disclose financial information in threads like this. It is about ideas for getting or keeping good credit. Thanks for contributing yours.



    Nick




    You're welcome. The *reason* I set up everything on auto-pay is not because I am organized or angelic, but as I said, because I hated the whole bill-paying ordeal so much. It always seemed to be a chore hanging over my head like a black cloud.



    A friend of mine (also a Leo...heh...but an art teacher) told me she would throw all her bills on an entry-way table, and when the table collapsed, she would pay them. Sounds like a person with an artistic temperament, doesn't it? She would write her electric bill check to include the name 'pirates' on the "pay to" line...and they always cashed it. hahaha.



    Reminds me of my first income tax return as a brand new teacher. I listed my occupation as "musk-oxen rancher"!!!! I thought the IRS would have a sense of humor (in my naive and innocent state). They never did lead me off in chains (at the time), but a few years down the road, I was audited THREE years in a row.
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