For every 5 Americans who have a credit card, one of them carries a credit card balance or they pay the minimum to credit card companies. A survey published by creditcards.com mention that about 43 Million Americans think it is healthy to carry over a credit card balance to a popular strategy is to pay the minimum. Americans think that carrying a balance helps their FICO score, but this is the contrary.

The factors that companies consider using to factor your credit card score are your payment history, amounts owed, credit history, a mix of credit, and new forms of credit are the only determining factors that are used to factor your FICO score. I have heard this before on the news, on talk radio shows, and on financial podcasts, but for some reason the majority of Americans still think that carrying over a credit card balance is healthy, they think carrying over a balance or paying the minimum is helping their credit when in fact we have been told over and over that it does not, but 43 million Americans still do it.

If you're looking to improve your FICO score you should be doing the opposite, pay off your credit card balances every month, pay them on time, and pay them in full.

If you forget to pay a credit card balance off because you forgot or you were out of town traveling for business that won’t hurt you, but if you pay your credit card significantly late this will definitely hurt your FICO score.

If you find your self-drowning in debt seek out some professional help in your local area, find a trusted financial advisor who could help you get out of debt and help save you thousands of dollars in interest. If you are concerned about your credit and do not have a good FICO score there are services out there that can help improve your credit scores. By taking a credit score from a 620 to a 720 can help save you thousands of dollars in interest but can also empower you to leverage your money and help position yourself in those times when borrowing is necessary. I recently purchased a 2-year old pre-owned certified sports vehicle, I did my homework and got my self pre-approved from my personal bank. I walked into the dealership picked out my car and was done purchasing my vehicle in about 4 hours. I sat there and watched a couple next to the cubicle from me and noticed they were there before me and were still there hours after I left. The representative who was helping me told me he wished people who come into purchase a vehicle had the position I was in to buy a vehicle in the terms and conditions I demanded, and they rolled out the red carpet for me in response and I drove my car home shortly after signing all the papers. We had talked and I asked him questions and he told me that couples like the one next to us come in every day and finance a vehicle at high-interest rates because their credit is really poor and end up paying double or triple the car payments I ended up paying. Taking care of your debt to income ratios, credit scores, and your finances make your major purchases smooth and easy, you basically get what you ask for and you pay less in interest.

Imagine your self with a 730 credit score, what kind of score like that can do for you and your family. Imagine your self -getting out of debt 10-15 years sooner, what kind of vacations would you take? what kind of lifestyle could you live? or Donating to a noble cause could be a priority too! how would that make you feel? what would your family think of you? More importantly, what could you leave behind for your loved ones?

Call me today if you live in the greater Austin area. I can help get you back on the right track!

“so that you can live like no one else right now so that later you can live like no one else!"-Dave Ramsey

Rene Gonzales

Senior Representative
c. 512-568-7203
e. Rene.Gonzales@Primerica.com
www.Primerica.com/ReneGonzales