Open Thread, May 26 - June 1, 2014

BarbaraB

Previous Open Thread: http://lesswrong.com/r/discussion/lw/k94/open_thread_may_19_25_2014/

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Previous Open Thread: http://lesswrong.com/r/discussion/lw/k94/open_thread_may_19_25_2014/

You know the drill - If it's worth saying, but not worth its own post (even in Discussion), then it goes here.

Notes for future OT posters:

1. Please add the 'open_thread' tag.

2. Check if there is an active Open Thread before posting a new one.

3. Open Threads should start on Monday, and end on Sunday.

4. Open Threads should be posted in Discussion, and not Main.

How do you optimize your credit score? I am getting my first credit card soon, and I want to do everything right so that in a few years when I might need a loan, everything is really good. I made a mistake by applying to too many cards, so now I have more inquiries than is good. Any other pitfalls to be aware of?

I wouldn't worry about having too many inquiries right now. That's just a temporary mark and it has a low impact on your credit score.

Here are some tips to help build a good credit score:

Credit Cart Utilization: Keep your total % of credit used at under 30%. 10-20% is probably ideal. Also, try not to max out any individual cards. Raising the total amount of credit you have available is a good thing and it allows you to charge more while still staying in the sweet spot of card utilization.
Credit History Length: If you're young, I would recommend app

... (read more)

16RolfAndreassen12y

In my experience, people pay way too much attention to credit scores, relative to the underlying cash flows. Suggest you concentrate on building up savings, which you control to a much greater extent, instead of trying to optimise a mostly opaque system that has, in any case, at most a second-order effect on your prosperity.

9John_Maxwell12y

Set your bills to auto-pay from your bank account. Then you can treat your credit card like it's effectively a debit card and make your everyday purchases with it in order to collect the rewards. (Though, I think I remember reading that you'll still build your credit rating holding a credit card you don't use.)