How much, if any, student loan debt should I keep to maximize my credit score?
July 30th, 2010 | 
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lightningboltjs asked:
I’ve nearly paid off my student loans, I’ve only got a few thousand dollars left and I could pay it all off by around June or so. I’ve paid WAY ahead, which some sources say has actually hurt my score by as much as 15 points. I know that the type of dept you have affects your credit score and student loan debt as a higher percentage of your overall debt is better than having 100 percent credit card debt even though I pay off the entire balance of my card every month. I was thinking if I kept $1,000 of student loan debt that might be favorable to zero, giving me some points for an older account and mitigating the size of whatever is on my credit card when they rate me, but I don’t know. Am I better off with zero or some? I have no idea.
Bad Consolidate Credit Debt
I’ve nearly paid off my student loans, I’ve only got a few thousand dollars left and I could pay it all off by around June or so. I’ve paid WAY ahead, which some sources say has actually hurt my score by as much as 15 points. I know that the type of dept you have affects your credit score and student loan debt as a higher percentage of your overall debt is better than having 100 percent credit card debt even though I pay off the entire balance of my card every month. I was thinking if I kept $1,000 of student loan debt that might be favorable to zero, giving me some points for an older account and mitigating the size of whatever is on my credit card when they rate me, but I don’t know. Am I better off with zero or some? I have no idea.
Bad Consolidate Credit Debt
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Card Consolidation Credit Debt
Student loans are installment loans. You build credit by making the payments over time. Continuing to make payments will build your score. However, it’s a whole lot smarter to think with your pocketbook rather than worry about a few points in your score. Paying off the student loans early will save a whole lot of interest.
People are way too obsessed with credit scores — it’s all those stupid commercials. Pay all your bills on time and check your credit report annually for accuracy. Your score will take care of itself.
Consolidate Debt
You can use this credit monitoring service to pre-estimate future scores for different scenarios of such payments – buildcredit.ifastnet.com