Credit utilization is one of the most important — and most misunderstood — parts of your credit score. In this episode of the Pink Money Podcast, Jerry Williams breaks down how credit utilization works, why it accounts for 30% of your credit score, and how even responsible borrowers can accidentally damage their credit rating. Using a real-life experience while helping manage his mother’s finances, Jerry explains how credit card balances can quietly exceed limits and negatively affect credit ...

Apple Podcasts podcast player badge
Amazon Music podcast player badge
RSS Feed podcast player badge
Spotify podcast player badge
Apple Podcasts podcast player iconAmazon Music podcast player iconRSS Feed podcast player iconSpotify podcast player icon

Credit utilization is one of the most important — and most misunderstood — parts of your credit score.

In this episode of the Pink Money Podcast, Jerry Williams breaks down how credit utilization works, why it accounts for 30% of your credit score, and how even responsible borrowers can accidentally damage their credit rating.

Using a real-life experience while helping manage his mother’s finances, Jerry explains how credit card balances can quietly exceed limits and negatively affect credit scores. He also shares practical strategies for keeping utilization low and protecting your financial reputation.

Understanding how credit utilization works can help you maintain a stronger credit score and qualify for better interest rates when you need them most.

💬 Have a question or comment? Contact Jerry here


Transcript
WEBVTT

00:00:00.560 --> 00:00:04.639
The following podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only.

00:00:04.799 --> 00:00:10.480
Remember to seek competent tax, legal and investment advice that is unique to your personal situation.

00:00:29.359 --> 00:00:30.960
Hey everybody.

00:00:31.359 --> 00:00:33.679
Welcome to the Pink Money Podcast.

00:00:33.920 --> 00:00:39.600
I'm your host, Jerry Williams, and we talk about all things related to money from a gay perspective.

00:00:39.840 --> 00:00:43.280
And today I want to talk about credit utilization.

00:00:43.359 --> 00:00:50.960
And what I mean by that is how it actually is a part of your credit score and really how it can affect you.

00:00:51.119 --> 00:01:03.039
And what I mean by that is, you know, recently I encountered a situation where it became very clear to me that a lot of people don't really understand credit utilization.

00:01:03.439 --> 00:01:21.519
And I think it gets overlooked, and it is something I think that people don't pay too close attention to, but it is really significant and it can be one of those things that you can manage well, or it can sort of run amok.

00:01:22.000 --> 00:01:23.680
And I'll explain here in a second.

00:01:23.760 --> 00:01:28.079
But let's go over just kind of the basics of what a credit score is, right?

00:01:28.239 --> 00:01:37.519
I think we've all heard it, we already know a lot of the basics, but let's just recap kind of how credit score is calculated and what the components are.

00:01:37.760 --> 00:01:45.680
So you have 35% of your score based on your payment history, meaning do you pay your bills on time every time?

00:01:46.159 --> 00:01:47.519
That's pretty much it.

00:01:47.680 --> 00:01:48.640
Did you make your payment?

00:01:48.719 --> 00:01:49.200
Yes or no?

00:01:49.359 --> 00:01:50.239
Black and white.

00:01:50.480 --> 00:01:54.079
Then the next biggest chunk, 30%, is the credit utilization.

00:01:54.239 --> 00:01:57.519
That just means how much of your credit is available to you.

00:01:57.760 --> 00:02:00.879
And I'll go into a little bit more detail here in a second.

00:02:01.200 --> 00:02:05.200
Then 15% relates to the length of time you've had credit with your lenders.

00:02:05.359 --> 00:02:14.240
So the longer you've had a credit line of credit open with somebody, then that just reflects better than you know brand new credit.

00:02:14.560 --> 00:02:20.000
Then you go into 10% is your credit mix, meaning the different types of credit.

00:02:20.159 --> 00:02:30.479
So it reflects better on you if you can manage different types of credit, like a credit card, a car loan, a mortgage, personal loan, those kind of things.

00:02:30.719 --> 00:02:37.039
And then the remaining 10%, it goes into what are called hard inquiries onto your credit report.

00:02:37.120 --> 00:02:45.039
So if you're looking to buy a car and you fill out a credit application and your bank pulls your credit report, that's going to be a hard hit onto your report.

00:02:45.199 --> 00:02:48.000
There's also soft hits, so you see a lot of those.

00:03:01.439 --> 00:03:12.400
You only want to apply for credit when you really want it, and you don't want to keep applying for a whole bunch of cards, etc., especially if you're not going to get approved, then that's just going to be a bad look on you.

00:03:12.960 --> 00:03:17.039
So what really happened was, you know, my mother has dementia.

00:03:17.120 --> 00:03:21.039
She's 86, and it's just one of those things that happens when you get old, right?

00:03:21.360 --> 00:03:36.639
But if you're the kind of person who helps other people and you don't mind, you know, taking over financial situation for somebody, then this is just one of those duties that you find yourself in.

00:03:36.879 --> 00:03:42.960
There's, you know, people who are highly organized and detailed, and they don't mind doing it, and there's the opposite.

00:03:43.360 --> 00:03:46.879
And I'm just one of those people that it doesn't bother me.

00:03:47.120 --> 00:04:11.919
You know, I've done it forever, and I find it actually kind of relaxing, and I also find it gratifying when I'm able to go and straighten out someone's situation because it just is one of those traits that I have that I like to be organized and neat, and I just find that I prefer to stay on top of things instead of letting them go.

00:04:12.560 --> 00:04:28.800
And I think that no matter how you feel about your own personal finances, whether they're in good shape or not, whenever you step into somebody else's shoes, then it's always eye-opening because they just are a unique individual, right?

00:04:28.879 --> 00:04:30.879
And they do things differently than you do.

00:04:31.199 --> 00:04:35.600
And I'm not criticizing how people go about their business.

00:04:35.759 --> 00:04:37.040
That is just what it is.

00:04:37.120 --> 00:04:38.399
It's their business.

00:04:38.720 --> 00:04:49.279
But again, when you have your own way of doing things and you look at other people, then sometimes you can see room for improvement, and that's kind of the basis of a lot of financial advice, right?

00:04:49.600 --> 00:05:06.079
Because when an advisor looks at your entire situation, which you know hopefully they do do, and they ask you a bunch of questions, and then they start to see some gaps or poke holes in it, and then that's sort of the basis of their advice, and you know, it can go from there.

00:05:06.240 --> 00:05:10.959
But so anyway, um, a half power of attorney, like I said, over my mom's accounts.

00:05:11.199 --> 00:05:23.600
One of the things that I noticed was one of her credit cards just wasn't going down as quickly as I thought it was going to go down, and I wasn't really paying too close attention to the reasons why.

00:05:23.680 --> 00:05:28.000
And I thought, well, maybe it's the interest rate, and I checked, I'm like, no, it's not really that.

00:05:28.240 --> 00:05:34.879
And then I started taking a look and I realized that her balance was way over her credit limit.

00:05:35.120 --> 00:05:38.480
And not by a little bit, not by like, you know,$10,$20,$100.

00:05:38.959 --> 00:05:41.040
No, we're talking about over a thousand dollars.

00:05:41.199 --> 00:05:42.720
And that surprised me, right?

00:05:42.959 --> 00:05:49.279
Because then the more that you're paying on a credit card, then the higher the interest is going to be.

00:05:49.519 --> 00:06:00.240
So your payments have to adjust, in my mind, so that you can wipe out this credit card debt sooner rather than later because the interest you're paying on this balance is is high.

00:06:00.480 --> 00:06:02.560
It's just money that you're throwing out the window.

00:06:02.639 --> 00:06:08.560
It's money that you might as well just set on fire because there's no benefit to you in this sense.

00:06:08.720 --> 00:06:12.879
It doesn't go into your savings, it doesn't go into your investments.

00:06:13.199 --> 00:06:15.279
So those make your money grow.

00:06:15.519 --> 00:06:17.279
This does really nothing for you.

00:06:17.360 --> 00:06:27.279
All you're doing is paying the bank or this, you know, institution, whatever it is, to charge you money for things that you've bought.

00:06:27.600 --> 00:06:34.000
And I guess that some ways, you know, we do it because we feel like we don't have any other choice.

00:06:34.160 --> 00:06:47.600
Let's say if you want to buy a house and you don't have three, four hundred thousand dollars to put down on the house and buy it outright, you usually take out a mortgage, and then you just pay the interest as you go, and you just go, I gotta suck it up, right?

00:06:47.759 --> 00:06:48.879
It's just part of the beast.

00:06:49.040 --> 00:07:09.279
If I want to own a house and I don't have the money, then I'm gonna have to take out a loan, and then interest is just a big part of it, and you suffer through it unless you get mortgage that you can pay off rather quickly, like instead of a 30-year mortgage, you go with a 15-year mortgage, you know, or you make very concerted efforts to pay off your 30-year mortgage as quickly as possible by making extra payments.

00:07:09.439 --> 00:07:10.879
You get the idea.

00:07:11.199 --> 00:07:19.600
So, nevertheless, the credit card, like I said, was over its limit to a significant degree.

00:07:19.920 --> 00:07:23.439
And I called the bank and I spoke to the frontline employee.

00:07:23.759 --> 00:07:29.680
And like I said, because I have power of attorney, you know, I'm acting in my mother's stead.

00:07:29.839 --> 00:07:33.839
I have her permission, her authorization to handle things on her behalf.

00:07:34.079 --> 00:07:46.160
And it's very, very necessary in my mind, again, to lay out a lot of financial planning and estate planning documents ahead of time so that when this situation happens, you're not a caught off guard.

00:07:46.319 --> 00:07:55.839
You're able to take control of things when it's necessary for you to take control of things so that you can smooth out the path and alleviate these obstacles for this person.

00:07:56.319 --> 00:08:00.720
And that's just prudent planning, period.

00:08:00.959 --> 00:08:04.160
Nevertheless, let's go back to credit utilization.

00:08:04.480 --> 00:08:09.920
So I'm calling, I'm asking, hey, why is this credit card over its thousand dollar limit?

00:08:10.079 --> 00:08:21.680
And the frontline employee employee doesn't have an explanation for me, and she refers me to the terms and conditions, and I'm asking, why would I go to the terms and conditions?

00:08:22.079 --> 00:08:23.199
What's in there?

00:08:23.439 --> 00:08:27.439
You know, what how's this gonna explain this situation here?

00:08:27.759 --> 00:08:32.639
Well pa she had no idea what she was even talking about.

00:08:32.960 --> 00:08:45.519
So her, who knows, coach, her coworker, whomever, her training, I don't know, sent her to the terms and conditions and said, tell him to read this and let's hurry up and get him off the phone and get to the next call.

00:08:45.679 --> 00:08:47.279
But that's not gonna work with me, right?

00:08:47.519 --> 00:08:51.440
Because I know that the terms and conditions aren't gonna answer my question.

00:08:51.679 --> 00:08:56.159
I already know how this happened in terms of the mechanics of it.

00:08:56.320 --> 00:08:58.879
I want to know why it happened.

00:08:59.200 --> 00:09:04.080
Because when there's a credit limit, right, that is the top.

00:09:04.399 --> 00:09:09.120
And that usually means you cannot charge over and above this.

00:09:09.440 --> 00:09:12.240
I mean, otherwise, why have a credit limit, right?

00:09:12.320 --> 00:09:15.360
Then you might as well just say, charge as much as you want, it doesn't matter.

00:09:15.519 --> 00:09:20.720
I mean, if you have an American uh express black, you know, then you can do essentially whatever you want.

00:09:20.879 --> 00:09:21.919
This is not that.

00:09:22.240 --> 00:09:29.440
So I didn't understand why the bank let this go over to such a significant degree, and I wanted an explanation.

00:09:29.679 --> 00:09:35.519
She had none, and I'm completely okay with you saying I don't know.

00:09:35.919 --> 00:09:37.200
Because that's real.

00:09:37.519 --> 00:09:41.600
I don't know means I've reached the limit of what I know.

00:09:42.159 --> 00:09:44.799
So she turned me over to somebody else.

00:09:45.360 --> 00:09:46.000
Perfect.

00:09:46.240 --> 00:09:47.600
That's exactly what I want.

00:09:47.840 --> 00:09:51.679
Put somebody else on the phone who knows and can answer my question.

00:09:51.919 --> 00:09:56.159
The next person comes on, guess what she does?

00:09:57.120 --> 00:09:59.360
Refers me to the terms and conditions.

00:10:00.000 --> 00:10:01.519
And again, why?

00:10:01.679 --> 00:10:02.639
Why would I look at that?

00:10:02.720 --> 00:10:03.840
What is that gonna tell me?

00:10:04.000 --> 00:10:05.679
How does this answer my question?

00:10:06.559 --> 00:10:15.360
Well, yeah, I'm like, why would she put me through to you if you're the escalation person?

00:10:15.519 --> 00:10:20.559
I don't even know if you're a part of the management team, but you should be able to answer this question.

00:10:20.799 --> 00:10:21.120
Okay?

00:10:21.279 --> 00:10:22.320
It's pretty simple.

00:10:22.639 --> 00:10:30.879
The reason this happened is because when you charge things up on your credit card, you get what's basically a pre-authorization.

00:10:31.200 --> 00:10:45.440
So if there's credit that is available at the time that the merchant is trying to put the charge through, then it's getting the authorization saying that yes, this amount of credit is available.

00:10:45.679 --> 00:10:57.600
So it doesn't mean that this is settled, it just means at the time that this inquiry was made, there was that amount of credit that was available, and that's it.

00:10:57.840 --> 00:10:59.679
That that's all it is, right?

00:10:59.840 --> 00:11:13.519
It doesn't mean you've made the purchase, it just means that they've put that inquiry in and got a pre-authorization, and then things settle, and so multiple transactions can come through and then they settle.

00:11:13.679 --> 00:11:16.240
That may put you over your credit limit.

00:11:16.480 --> 00:11:28.559
Even the terms and conditions will say, yes, we allow certain transactions to come through based on however they make that judgment call, right?

00:11:28.720 --> 00:11:30.399
Which is again fine.

00:11:30.559 --> 00:11:34.159
That's not what I'm asking, because I understand how that works.

00:11:34.399 --> 00:11:39.519
I'm saying, why did you let it go through to this degree?

00:11:39.840 --> 00:11:45.600
So it wasn't like the bank just said, Oh, you've been such good customers, we don't really care.

00:11:45.759 --> 00:11:47.279
Just go ahead and let it go through.

00:11:47.600 --> 00:11:49.200
No, that doesn't happen.

00:11:49.440 --> 00:11:53.440
If I were to go today and I would have used that credit card, guess what I'm gonna get?

00:11:53.759 --> 00:11:54.639
Declined.

00:11:54.879 --> 00:11:56.480
Because there's a credit limit.

00:11:56.639 --> 00:11:59.679
That means you've reached the limit, you're over the limit.

00:12:00.000 --> 00:12:09.600
And even in as much as that is bothersome to me, I could even live with that, that you've let this slide and go over to this degree, right?

00:12:09.759 --> 00:12:19.519
I don't like it because it costs money, and I would have a better solution if I had known that these transactions weren't going to go through.

00:12:19.759 --> 00:12:25.120
Yes, I would have made different arrangements because I don't want this credit card to go over its limit.

00:12:25.279 --> 00:12:28.480
And the reason why is the credit utilization.

00:12:28.799 --> 00:12:32.159
That reflects negatively on your credit report.

00:12:32.320 --> 00:12:34.240
It hurts your credit score.

00:12:34.399 --> 00:12:42.639
So, like I said, when we go back to how the credit score is calculated, we have the 35% of you paying your bills on time every time, every month.

00:12:42.799 --> 00:12:47.360
We have the 30% of the credit utilization, how much of your credit have you used?

00:12:47.600 --> 00:12:58.240
We have the 15% goes for the length of time you've had credit, the 10% go into credit mix, and the remaining 10% going into hard inquiries.

00:12:58.480 --> 00:13:06.879
So, in terms of the 30%, we are far and away above the total amount that is available.

00:13:07.279 --> 00:13:10.960
So again, this is going to hurt your credit score.

00:13:11.200 --> 00:13:19.759
So if I have a$10,000 credit limit and I've charged up$5,000, that is half of what is available.

00:13:19.919 --> 00:13:26.320
Now, ideally, in your utilization, you'd have 30%, which is considered okay.

00:13:26.559 --> 00:13:29.679
You would have 20%, that would be considered better.

00:13:29.919 --> 00:13:35.279
10%, yes, that's where you want to reside at the 10% level.

00:13:35.519 --> 00:13:52.799
Even if it's a card that you have never used or you used rarely, you want to use it occasionally just so that you keep this active, and then the utilization rate is calculated based on again, you making these purchases, but under this 10% level.

00:13:52.960 --> 00:14:00.320
It just says that I use my money responsibly, I know how to use it, and I'm not going to overextend myself.

00:14:00.480 --> 00:14:11.200
I'm not going to get to the point that these mathematical algorithms take a look at me and say, this is kind of worrisome.

00:14:11.360 --> 00:14:15.200
I don't know why he's so, you know, overextended.

00:14:15.279 --> 00:14:16.960
He's used up all of his credit.

00:14:17.120 --> 00:14:18.559
That's not a good thing.

00:14:18.639 --> 00:14:19.759
He might default.

00:14:19.919 --> 00:14:21.519
There's a level of risk here.

00:14:21.759 --> 00:14:22.240
Hmm.

00:14:22.399 --> 00:14:27.039
We're going to take that into account, and what we're going to do is lower your credit score as a result.

00:14:27.279 --> 00:14:32.159
It's just telling the lender, this is maybe someone you need to keep an eye on.

00:14:32.320 --> 00:14:34.240
I don't want that to happen, right?

00:14:34.399 --> 00:14:35.679
I want the reverse.

00:14:35.840 --> 00:14:51.440
I want there to be no question that this person is worthy of the credit we're going to lend to them because we don't have a problem with the idea that this person's going to skip, that they're going to be a problem, that they can't pay their bills.

00:14:51.679 --> 00:14:53.440
That's where I want to be.

00:14:53.759 --> 00:15:00.960
So when this person tells me they don't know, that's worrisome to me because you work in this industry.

00:15:01.200 --> 00:15:04.639
You are representing this bank who extended this line of credit.

00:15:04.879 --> 00:15:13.039
Explain to me how this went from a hundred percent to over a hundred percent, and not a little bit, but by a lot.

00:15:13.360 --> 00:15:19.519
So when you can't tell me that, of course, it's gonna be bothersome to me because I'm a detailed person.

00:15:19.600 --> 00:15:25.440
I like to get the answers that I'm looking for, and I don't want to be put off because you don't know.

00:15:25.679 --> 00:15:26.799
What should you do?

00:15:27.120 --> 00:15:28.080
Fess up.

00:15:28.480 --> 00:15:30.000
You know, I don't know.

00:15:30.320 --> 00:15:31.360
I don't know.

00:15:31.600 --> 00:15:32.240
Perfect.

00:15:32.480 --> 00:15:34.240
I understand you don't know.

00:15:34.639 --> 00:15:38.960
Then you should tell me, let me go find somebody else.

00:15:39.120 --> 00:15:40.960
Yes, that's what you should do.

00:15:41.200 --> 00:15:42.559
Find somebody else.

00:15:42.879 --> 00:15:48.240
If you don't have anybody that's available right then and there, then what do you do?

00:15:48.480 --> 00:15:49.440
You know what?

00:15:49.840 --> 00:15:53.200
Let me go and research this for you.

00:15:53.360 --> 00:15:58.080
I've got your contact information, and when I have an answer, I will call you back.

00:15:58.320 --> 00:15:58.960
Perfect.

00:15:59.200 --> 00:16:00.000
That's great.

00:16:00.159 --> 00:16:01.279
That's what I want.

00:16:01.600 --> 00:16:04.639
Because I want the answer to my question.

00:16:04.799 --> 00:16:06.399
I don't want you to guess.

00:16:06.639 --> 00:16:11.519
But in this instance with this rep, just to kind of close the loop on this story.

00:16:12.240 --> 00:16:26.159
So again, knowing she didn't know what she was talking about and trying to pacify me and put me off, or try to talk condescendingly to me, which again does not work, because I understand how things work financially.

00:16:26.480 --> 00:16:27.759
I'm nobody's dummy.

00:16:28.000 --> 00:16:30.399
I wouldn't be doing what I've do what I'm doing.

00:16:30.639 --> 00:16:34.480
I wouldn't have been a financial advisor for 20-some years.

00:16:34.639 --> 00:16:41.120
I don't know why I would have bothered pursuing a master's degree in personal financial planning if I didn't know what I was doing.

00:16:41.360 --> 00:16:43.120
That just doesn't work like that, right?

00:16:43.200 --> 00:16:49.200
You pursued higher education for a reason and a purpose because you need it, you want it, and you're going to put it to good use.

00:16:49.440 --> 00:16:54.480
Nevertheless, that would have been really condescending for me to say and very patronizing, but I didn't.

00:16:54.639 --> 00:16:55.679
I didn't go there.

00:16:56.159 --> 00:16:57.360
Wanted to, right?

00:16:57.440 --> 00:17:05.839
We all have crazy thoughts, but no, I didn't want to get into that kind of an argument because it has nothing to do with again the basis of my question.

00:17:06.079 --> 00:17:08.319
Anyway, she did not say that.

00:17:08.640 --> 00:17:14.559
And so what I told her is this is the reason I'm calling because I want to answer to my question.

00:17:14.720 --> 00:17:17.359
And she says, Well, I think you should call Visa.

00:17:18.640 --> 00:17:19.200
Visa?

00:17:20.400 --> 00:17:22.559
And why would I call Visa?

00:17:22.960 --> 00:17:27.119
Well, because no, there would be no reason for me to call Visa, right?

00:17:27.920 --> 00:17:33.119
The only thing I would do when I call Visa is ask, how is business?

00:17:33.680 --> 00:17:36.960
Because Visa does not care about this situation.

00:17:37.200 --> 00:17:43.599
They're gonna tell me, go back to the issuer of the card, go back to your bank and ask them the question, right?

00:17:43.759 --> 00:17:44.799
This is one of their rules.

00:17:44.880 --> 00:17:46.640
This has nothing to do with Visa.

00:17:47.359 --> 00:17:51.200
And then on top of that, she says, Well, maybe it's a merchant.

00:17:51.680 --> 00:17:55.440
Well, first of all, you shouldn't be telling me about maybe.

00:17:55.680 --> 00:17:57.920
You should tell me this is the reason why.

00:17:58.160 --> 00:18:00.640
I don't want you to guess, I want you to know the reason why.

00:18:00.720 --> 00:18:04.400
And again, why why would I call the merchant?

00:18:05.279 --> 00:18:07.599
What what what what are they gonna tell me?

00:18:08.240 --> 00:18:11.839
Because we're talking about probably multiple merchants, right?

00:18:12.079 --> 00:18:16.160
There probably isn't just one purchase that pushed this over the level.

00:18:16.319 --> 00:18:22.160
I'm not even disputing the charges, I am saying why did this go over its limit?

00:18:22.480 --> 00:18:27.519
So all these merchants, do you think that they care that I'm over the limit?

00:18:28.400 --> 00:18:30.160
No, they don't care at all.

00:18:30.480 --> 00:18:34.079
Because they're saying we sold you this, you put it on your credit card.

00:18:34.240 --> 00:18:39.839
At the time we ran your credit card, it was allowed and went through on the bank side.

00:18:40.079 --> 00:18:45.359
So we got our money, you got your product, merchandise, whatever, we're all happy.

00:18:45.680 --> 00:18:49.279
So there's nothing else for me to talk to the merchant about.

00:18:49.519 --> 00:18:59.119
So unless I decide to make a return, anyway, so you can see how this conversation went nowhere and went south.

00:18:59.440 --> 00:19:13.440
So anyway, I ended up writing a letter to the bank and complaining about this whole situation, and she wrote to me back, this resolution person.

00:19:14.160 --> 00:19:15.759
You know what she put in her letter?

00:19:17.200 --> 00:19:19.039
Refer to the terms and conditions.

00:19:21.119 --> 00:19:22.079
Oh, okay.

00:19:22.400 --> 00:19:27.200
That didn't work, and this conversation has just ended because there's no explanation here.

00:19:27.359 --> 00:19:28.400
Really, there's none.

00:19:28.640 --> 00:19:40.559
The only explanation is, again, like I mentioned, that at the time these transactions were authorized, there was credit, and then they settled, and then it pushed it over the limit.

00:19:40.799 --> 00:19:44.160
There is no explanation to why it went over to this degree.

00:19:44.400 --> 00:19:44.880
None.

00:19:45.440 --> 00:19:51.200
Because again, there should be a credit limit that does not allow you to go over this level.

00:19:51.839 --> 00:20:03.759
And to make this even more kind of ironic, is after I paid this down, I get a letter from the bank saying, hey, by the way, you're over your credit limit.

00:20:06.319 --> 00:20:07.519
Oh my god.

00:20:08.400 --> 00:20:10.160
It just never ends.

00:20:10.559 --> 00:20:16.880
Anyway, the whole concept here, like I said, is utilization, you have to keep an eye on it.

00:20:17.039 --> 00:20:31.759
And as I mentioned before, had I known, of course, you know, I didn't know what was happening here in this instance, or I would have helped my mother make a better decision because I wouldn't have wanted her to push her utilization rate up so high.

00:20:32.079 --> 00:20:36.000
Because what I could have done is put this on other cards.

00:20:36.240 --> 00:20:43.279
So if I had a card that, let's say, had nothing on it, then I would have moved some of these purchases to that card.

00:20:43.519 --> 00:20:52.960
If this one was crusting past 50%, then I would have put it on another card to make sure that we were at that 30% level if that was possible.

00:20:53.200 --> 00:20:59.200
I could have taken out, let's say, a personal loan if it was for a very, very large purchase, whatever.

00:20:59.519 --> 00:21:05.359
Maybe there was some, I don't know, remodeling being done or a huge landscaping project being done.

00:21:05.519 --> 00:21:11.200
I would have made other arrangements to make sure that this did not impact your credit score.

00:21:11.440 --> 00:21:15.920
So when you're aware of these things, you can make better decisions.

00:21:16.160 --> 00:21:19.279
This is not manipulating your credit score.

00:21:19.359 --> 00:21:26.960
This is working strategically with your credit score because you may need your credit score to remain high.

00:21:27.200 --> 00:21:30.559
Maybe it's just out of personal satisfaction.

00:21:30.799 --> 00:21:35.119
Maybe you like having a credit score in the 700s, 800s.

00:21:35.359 --> 00:21:36.960
That's nice, right?

00:21:37.200 --> 00:21:44.960
Maybe that's helpful to you because the higher your credit score is, then when you do take out credit, then you get a pretty good interest rate.

00:21:45.200 --> 00:21:48.160
When you have terrible credit, you pay the price.

00:21:48.480 --> 00:21:52.799
You pay interest that's very high, sometimes up to 29%.

00:21:53.279 --> 00:21:58.000
I don't even know how high credit card rates can go, quite frankly, but it doesn't matter.

00:21:58.240 --> 00:22:08.079
If you're paying for For whatever you bought at Macy's and you are paying on a at a twenty nine percent interest rate, well that's no bargain, right?

00:22:08.160 --> 00:22:09.279
That's no bargain at all.

00:22:09.440 --> 00:22:11.039
That's very harmful to you.

00:22:11.279 --> 00:22:14.880
Cause again, that money's not working for you, it's working against you.

00:22:15.119 --> 00:22:19.119
And you only have so much money, and the last thing you want to do is give it away.

00:22:19.279 --> 00:22:24.559
And the last thing you want to do is especially give it to a merchant who doesn't care about you at all.

00:22:24.720 --> 00:22:28.079
I mean, if you're gonna give money away, give it to me.

00:22:28.480 --> 00:22:33.440
Give it to, you know, a charity, give it to the Humane Society, whatever.

00:22:34.079 --> 00:22:40.799
And even when you do a donation like that, you're gonna get the ability to take that off on your taxes.

00:22:40.960 --> 00:22:42.720
So there's sort of the win-win.

00:22:42.799 --> 00:22:55.759
There's the encouragement there to donate because the government says, yeah, we're gonna support you in your charitable donations by saying this is a good thing and you're helpful to society, and we're gonna reward you for that, at least to a certain degree.

00:22:55.920 --> 00:22:59.440
We'll allow you to take, you know, a tax deduction.

00:22:59.680 --> 00:23:01.279
Anyway, you get the point.

00:23:01.839 --> 00:23:10.160
So I'm just saying that credit utilization, I think, is a bigger part of your credit score, quite frankly, than even your payment history.

00:23:10.319 --> 00:23:14.559
Again, that's black and white, but your credit utilization rate is not.

00:23:15.039 --> 00:23:25.359
It is a little squishy, but you can use it to your benefit, or you can let it run amok and it will work to your detriment.

00:23:25.680 --> 00:23:34.240
So I think I've said enough about that, and I just wanted to say that I think that this is a good lesson for anyone.

00:23:34.880 --> 00:23:39.119
And I don't blame the frontline employees, let me tell you that.

00:23:39.440 --> 00:23:57.519
Because they only know as much as they know, they're only trained to a certain degree, and it's not like, you know, I'm talking to a CPA, and if you're going to these institutions looking for financial advice and you're speaking to the frontline employee, that's probably not really going to work, right?

00:23:57.599 --> 00:23:58.559
Why are you talking to them?

00:23:58.720 --> 00:24:07.440
If you're really looking for advice and guidance, you need to seek out competent advice and guidance for somebody who really knows what they're talking about.

00:24:07.759 --> 00:24:09.680
That would be my best suggestion.

00:24:09.920 --> 00:24:21.200
And there's lots and lots of resources out there, and as I've said multiple times, I mean, you should have a good financial advisor in your pocket so you can ask him or her such or you know, questions that you have.

00:24:21.359 --> 00:24:27.599
Now, it doesn't mean, again, that your financial advisor is a guru, that they know everything under the sun.

00:24:28.079 --> 00:24:30.640
That that's not generally the case.

00:24:30.880 --> 00:24:38.880
I can tell you there's many, many, many, many good financial advisors out there, but they may not know a thing about property and casualty insurance.

00:24:38.960 --> 00:24:40.400
It's just not a part of their world.

00:24:40.640 --> 00:24:45.200
Many financial advisors they operate out of the silo of investments.

00:24:45.359 --> 00:24:47.680
That's pretty much their lane that they're in.

00:24:47.839 --> 00:24:53.039
They can guide you and give you advice and kinds to about investments till the cows come home.

00:24:53.359 --> 00:25:02.240
But broader topics, maybe like life insurance, they may have a basic working knowledge of it, but maybe their experience just isn't that broad.

00:25:02.559 --> 00:25:15.519
So, you know, not to throw anybody under the bus, but I know there's a well-known TV financial advisor who rails or used to rail anyway, I haven't watched in a long time, about annuities.

00:25:15.680 --> 00:25:25.039
And I could tell that this person didn't know a thing that they were talking about regarding annuities because like most financial products, they have a place and a purpose.

00:25:25.200 --> 00:25:39.759
And it doesn't mean they're for everyone, but if it falls into your world because it resolves this problem that you want to address or a goal you're trying to achieve, then it's suitable.

00:25:40.079 --> 00:25:42.000
And you may not know that on your own.

00:25:42.160 --> 00:25:48.799
You may need may need to talk with a professional who can guide you and explain why this is gonna work for you.

00:25:49.039 --> 00:25:50.880
Anyway, enough about all that.

00:25:51.039 --> 00:25:53.039
I think I've talked about that before, anyway.

00:25:53.279 --> 00:25:54.160
It doesn't matter.

00:25:54.319 --> 00:26:05.200
I want you to be educated, I want you to be empowered and enlightened about as many financial topics as I can impart to you because I think it's just helpful.

00:26:05.359 --> 00:26:07.359
The more you know, the better you're gonna be.

00:26:07.599 --> 00:26:11.440
Anyway, I will talk to you next time.