Paying off debt

[mykdiane]

How can I see a list of all my debt and how much I owe. I tried paying everything I know of but my credit score hasn’t improved at all and I don’t know if I’m doing it right. Please help! [phone number removed]

Myk

[Opus 17]

You should get all 3 of your credit reports from www.annualcreditreport.com.  Sometimes debts are not listed on all three of your reports.  

Second, it may take a month or longer for the lenders to update the credit bureaus.

Third, your credit score is a prediction of how well you will be able to pay off a future loan.  It includes both your current balances and your payment history.  If you have a history of late payments, that can keep your score lower for 2 years or more even if you are caught up or paid in full.

Finally, if you closed credit card accounts, that can lower your score because it reduces the amount of credit available.  For example, if you have 5 credit cards with $2000 limits, and your balances are $5000, then you are using 50% of your limit.  If you pay off $4000 so you are only using 10% of your limit, that should raise your score.  But if you also close 3 of those accounts, then that $1000 is 25% of your new limit so that will not have as beneficial an effect.  Of course, if closing the accounts keeps you from over-borrowing again, the long term benefit is greater to you but it may not have as large a short term benefit on your score.