Currently giving blood. Merry Christmas, recipient!

Debt issues question:

I just discovered we accidentally went over the limit on one of our cards. We're still well under our total credit limit, I just forgot that we were close to the top on this particular card, and we put some of our Christmas travel on it. We're only a hair over the limit, like $200, and I'm about to go online and pay as much as I can, which is a bit more than the minimum and enough to get us back under the limit.

Two questions:

1. The minimum payment is twice was it was last month, much more than is justified by what we spent. Is this one time because we're over the limit, or is it permanent as punishment for going over? And if the latter, is there any way we can fight it?

2. This probably means we've completely ruined all our chances of getting that personal loan to pay off the credit cards and give us a regular monthly payment that's tough but doable, right?

That's a good gift!

I am trying to figure out what and how to pack. Seriously. We have a lot of stuff.

Call and ask, Susan.

Confront the demon.

I am guessing the answer to 2 is no - the only thing it could change is the interest rate

Well, I made my 29 min connection in Cincinnati and arrived in Boston safe and sound. Now I just need to survive Christmas. Going dark for the next few days. Happy Solstice and Merry Christmas to all!

Fuck.

My credit rating is much lower than I'd expected.

[Edited to delete my actual score. Not that it's identifying info, but it's a little more detail than I want in the archives 5 years from now.]

Here's what the report said about why my score is so low:

1. You have no real estate accounts that can be used in determining a credit score: A healthy balance of credit and loan accounts is key to achieving a high credit score. It is important to build a record of responsible credit use over time with different types of accounts.

Can't change that. Buying a house right now would be the most financially irresponsible thing we could possibly do.

2. Time since oldest account opened is too recent: Time is an important factor for a healthy credit score. Giving the accounts time to mature may allow creditors to better understand how you pay your debts.

I took advantage of a 0% offer to transfer over some of our high interest rate debt in September.

3. The sum of your bank credit card account balances is too high: High credit balances may be considered by lenders to be a negative factor when determining creditworthiness. Paying down your balance may improve your score.

Given.

4. The balances on your revolving credit accounts are too high in comparison to their credit limits: It is a good idea to use your accounts regularly, but remember to keep your balances low in comparison to your available credit limits. Having a high ratio of balances to credit limits on open accounts may be viewed negatively by lenders.

Again, given.

Note: In addition to the factors listed above, the number of inquiries on your credit report has adversely affected your credit score.

This one REALLY pisses me off. We've had three inquiries. One was in February, when we briefly flirted with buying a house and applied for a loan. The other two were in March, when we were looking for a new place to rent. We pulled the plug on the first one because we weren't sure it was the right place and we had to decide quickly or it would be rented elsewhere. The other is where we're living now. I don't see how any of those things show us to be irresponsible people.

Oi, Susan... Though if you need a bright side (however paltry this may be), your score is a hundred points higher than mine, and two hundred points higher than S's. I'd kill someone to have your credit score. Really, I would.

And hey, people gave S and me both credit cards, so while your situation is not great, it's not as bad as it feels right now.

In an interview afterward with the news media, Aleya said she was somewhat surprised. She thought the candidate would be reading at a higher level.

“My favorite author is C. S. Lewis,” she said.

With all apologies to T-Rex and the various bacon slogans and sloganeers, I cannot stop laughing at this. That little girl is awesome.

Susan, definitely call them and ask. If it's a card you've had a while, stress your history with them and how rarely this has happened. And if they still say nope, there's nothing they can do, do mention the 0% card and that you anticipate being able to pay down your balance enough to transfer it to that other card and close this account in [whatever] months. If they still can't do anything, hang up, grit your teeth, pay it down, and transfer and close it (though it's entirely possible that when you call to close it they'll magically discover an extra-low special rate hiding under somebody's desk that they'd never noticed before, and please please please won't you consider staying oh please?).

Of course, I'm fairly timid and conflict-avoidy and mildly phone phobic, so someone like Daisy or Aimée or some other more aggressive consumer/self-advocate person may have better advice.