Your Credit Score Secrets

There are many people out there who are unaware of what their credit score is or how much it already could be affecting their wallet or could in the future if habits are not changed. Lenders have been using your credit report score in determining whether or not to grant you a loan and to calculate your interest rate for some time now. The loan officer knows what a powerful tool for predicting future behavior the credit score can be and has proved over and over again to be.

Credit scores measure risk through mathematical calculations, using statistical research to view each consumer. FICO, which is the most widely used credit-score formula was created by Fair Isaac. FICO scores are now often requested for such simple applications in categories such as cell phone providers, utilitility companies, landlords and even prospective employers. It seems that your credit score can affect a lot more than just getting that low interest rate on that all important home or auto loan.

Managing your credit score and knowing your score and what is included on the report should be a priority for anyone. First you need to educate yourself on how your credit score is determined and calculated by these reporting companies.

In order to calculate the score of just one individual, FICO credit system uses 22 pieces of data, which they collect from each of the three major credit bureaus and use in their analysis. The system seems to break down into separate categories and then put together a composite of all category scoring into a final outcome. Payment history, types of credit used, current debt, length of your credit history and new credit are the determining factors in credit scoring.

Even though people may think so, income is not a factor in a credit score and does not reflect upon the final score. Individual or variable factors are not taken account in a credit score so that the final outcome is more mathematical and analytical in nature, not using personal feelings or considering circumstance. Credit scores are simply predictors for future behavior based on past experience and behaviors.

The lowest possible credit score to have is 300 with the highest rating an 850. The higher your score is, the lower the possible risk to a creditor, and the better your interest rates are going to be. Having a score that is 800 or above is hard to obtain, with only an average of between 13-18% of the population having an 800 or higher credit rating. The average median credit score is more on average between 700 and 750.

Your FICO score is different from your credit reports. If you want to take a look at your credit reports, this is ALWAYS the place to start when it comes to credit repair. In 2003, The Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act entitles you to a free credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus once a year. Make sure to request yours to keep up to date on what is changing on your report.

Staggering when you request the reports also helps you to keep up to date on any changes and staggering the reports will also help you to spot bad information sooner. Many places can help you to obtain your credit report. A comprehensive list is included below to help you to getting your hands on your credit report.

The most detailed information to be found online when it comes to credit scoring seems to be from the creators themselves. You can go to the Credit Education area for the most up to date information regarding your credit report and rights. They offer all three credit bureau’s reports, which is highly recommended.

Because credit reporting is based on time and all three agency do not run like clockwork when it comes to which tasks are at hand. When one bureau reports something and when another bureau dates something could vary greatly. It would be imposbbile for each bureau to keep track of there reports all on the same schedule.

You will find that each bureau has different schedules and ways of reporting which makes it the most advantageous to have all three reports. You want to be able to make sure that all three bureaus show the same things and that one does not report something that the others do not, which is often the case when one bureau receives a collection activity notice and the others don’t.

Your credit history affects your ability to borrow and even creeps up to attack how much money it costs you to borrow once you find yourself actually approved for something. Every creditor, lender or individual interested in someone as a prospective customer has a credit scoring system in place to use with the information you provide when submitting your application. An individual’s credit report is essential to anyone out there seeking credit and is very important to any loan officer.

Many think of credit scoring systems as very vague “Wizard of Oz” type all powerful machines which control your number at a high speed. These credit scores are based on a statistical system however and are as easy to explain as the mystical “wizard”. The systems that were created to calculate your credit score use real world data and enable the lendor or creditor to view the individual objectively.

Some of these include the number and the different types of bank accounts an individual has, outstanding debts, history of bill paying, debt to credit ratios, any collections accounts that have been brought against the individual, bankruptcies and other factors determined more by the individual and his or her financial portfolio.

By comparing the history and background of one individual against the background of thousands of other consumers with financial situations and payrates that are similar, one can better predict the outcome of a loan offer made to this individual. It is easier to predict future habits based on the person’s ability in their past and see whether it is likely that debt will be managed well and repaid in the agreed upon time.

The mathematical system used by credit scoring systems has proven to lenders that it can be a strong predictor of one’s future ability to repay their credit or debt to an individual company. The system created was designed to place more emphasis on history and less emphasis on individual statistics, which are variable.

You can request your credit report through a number of ways but it will not help if you do not have the education and knowledge in order to read it and determine what you can do to raise your own credit score. Make sure to arm yourself with the knowledge through the right book, audio tape or program and you can put your credit report to work for you and be on the path to a better credit score.

You can find Ads everywhere for systems, books and secrets to help fix your credit report score in a hurry with virtually no effort. Many of these programs are featured on TV, in magazines and through Pop up ads online. Some of these marketing ads include claims such as the Tabloids use to promote their unbelievable magazines.

Claims such as, “Your credit score can jump 200 points in only 3 hours” or “Create a completely new credit file and fix your credit in only a day”. The truth is that there is not any credit program that can guarantee results that fast and no quick fix home remedy that will immediately solve all of your problems.

However, with only a little investment of time and effort, you can produce amazing results and raise your own credit score by yourself, without having to pay some credit repair agency tons of money in order to help. Even the Federal Trade Commission has stated right on their website that anything a credit reporting agency can do for you, you can do for yourself. All that is required is making sure to educate yourself properly with the right books and apply some simple techniques to take the time to Do It Right the first time and produce a better credit score.

There are only a few available books that can really help the average consumer to fix their own credit score and these books are well worth the small price. In order to fix your own credit, you need to know not only credit basics, but also the insider tips and techniques that the credit repair agencies use to fix your credit for you. These are easily applied once you are shown how to do it through the right book and using the right letter templates and time-tested methods.

The Credit Secrets Bible is the most highly recognized reading and program in the online search category when I searched for credit help. The publication, first produced in 1994 and with a new edition out by popular demand this year helps people with insider techniques and tips that the credit bureaus don’t want you to know.

Credit report can be easy, can save you thousands of dollars and you can do it yourself and make sure to put yourself on a better road to financial freedom. Find out for yourself how simple it can be and read about more of these insider tips to get you started on your credit score education and a better financial future.

When working with people on credit issues and dealing with the complexities of a credit report score, one notices without question that the debt to credit ratio is important. The debt to credit ratio can have a huge effect on that important home or auto loan or that needed business loan. However when balanced correctly, in accordance with the set standards for good credit from the credit reporting agencies, the debt to credit ratio can provide the much needed improvement for your current credit score.

People are constantly commenting on what a good idea it is to make sure and pay off all of your cards every month in full to make sure to establish good credit and show that one can pay their bills. This is such a misconception and only leads to confusion. Having a revolving balance kept at the right percentage compared to your debt and you are on your way to a better credit report.

Learning about your debt to credit ratio can be one of the important steps to putting yourself in the right frame of mind for credit success. For most Americans the debt to credit ratio is to high and it can be hard to obtain any new offers or loans from banks or financial institutions. For example, you have resolving accounts totaling $10,000 but you currently owe $8,000 which gives you an eighty percent ratio, very high for a buyer of a finance deal to even take a second look at you.

Lenders make the bulk of their money through charging interest, not sending out pretty square cards or annual fees. When looking at any model designed for credit scoring, it likes you to maintain your balances and pay over a length of time and it is driven with your ability to do this, amongst other things.

Being a lender in an institution, if I could see that over a long period of time, you had been able to maintain long-term credit worthiness with a company, it would prompt me to want your business and “interest” as well. As a lender, I know the type of customer that I want to solicit my loans to.

Sub-prime Merchandise Cards can be a great way to balance your debt to credit ratio while still warranting that $350 purchase for that lamp you HAD to have at Macy’s. Sub-Prime Merchandise Cards are simply cards carrying a line of credit to buy merchandise from a specific merchant which in most cases turns out to be the company who originally sold you the card.

Some marketers, perhaps due to their obvious benefits to the consumer, have started to market these cards while misrepresenting and misunderstanding how they work in their advertising campaigns. Sub Prime Merchandise Cards report to one or more of the three credit reporting agencies and can help to even out your percentages quickly when it comes to debt to credit ratio.

By Amy Pedersen 
I know many people who suffer from the belief that only time can fix bad credit and simply wait around hoping for the magic credit “cure” for their report score. Reality wise, time is only one small factor including many which will fix a credit report.

Time does not heal all wounds.You do not have to sit around “hoping” that one day those pesky little “collections accounts” or “negative” items grow legs and remove themselves. The credit laws and acts were written with the consumer in mind and with the best interests of the consumer, not the credit reporting agencies.

So back to time and how to avoid all this pesky waiting and patience when it comes to credit repair and removing negative items from your credit report. The Fair Credit Reporting Act, a consumer protection law, states that the only negative information which can remain on your credit report is not what is accurate….but what can be PROVED as accurate.

This is great news for the consumer as the rules and guidelines to follow when it comes to PROVING a negative item is accurate are complicated and hard to follow exactly. The good news from all of this is that if you do have negative items on your report, there may be something you can do about it.

The first step is to obtain your credit report and view any negative items that are on your rating. Next you simply need the knowledge of what steps and guidelines have to be followed in order for the item to be proved as accurate and start the process of checking whether the guidelines have been followed.

Using dispute letters and the right technique, a person can improve their score dramatically with little effort. As long as it is done right and with the proper education on credit, restoring your credit to a better rating has never been easier. It is vital that you have good information on how to dispute these items and get them removed, just as important as it is for the reporting agencies to obtain proof that the reporting is 100% accurate.

You need to know the right techniques in order to improve your score and get items removed or else, you may accomplish nothing. Although all it involves is a little bit of your time, credit dispute needs to be done properly to have the right affect and actually produce the results and get items removed. There are many programs that offer the “quick fix” to removing negatives or simple and “super fast” methods.

The truth is that although it takes only a little bit of time, it still needs to be done correctly and most of these books or pamphlets will just give you “cookie cutter” dispute letters and nothing original to at least get you started. A comprehensive guide of removing negative items from start to finish is really needed to get you from that first step to the very last and not leave you somewhere any between uncertain of which way to turn.

You need a book that will walk you through all the steps and the procedures for getting these items removed. In the end, the process is really no more than a method of communication which exercises your consumer protection rights and gets you back to the credit score you deserve. Either way, it is impressive to learn that it can be simple to do it for yourself and remove these items without having to pay a credit repair agency a ton of your hard earned money to do it for you. Find the right book and you are on your way to removing those negatives and gaining back your financial control.

Credit Cards, Credit Reports and Credit Scores. These terms are not exactly new to any of us. Neither are the implications when our own cards, reports or scores are not at their “best”. Credit scoring, first created by a group of wacky statisticians at the Fair Isaac Corporation, affects everyone out there at some point or another. All of us consumers at some time, come across an application for product, merchandise, land or property. Our credit score suddenly looms before us at these times as hugely important, even though we may have neglected it for years or simply months. It is amazing how easy it is for a credit score to change in only a small amount of time.

In the late 1950’s, a small group of statiscians in Minnesota, the Fair Isaac Corporation, wanted to have a look at how what a consumer did in the past or “historical variables” correlated with what would happen at a later date or “future behavior”. Those wacky statisticians and what fun filled conversationalists they must be, huh? Bet they’re a laugh a minute at parties.

They weren’t surprised with their results once they were finished. Turns out that these eggheads quickly discovered that the best way to predict the way a consumer would act in the future WAS based on their history of behavior. To predict whether or not a person would become seriously delinquent, it was as easy as looking at how that person had previously handled similar accounts. And of course, without a hint of egotism from those wacky statisticians, the FICO Score was born. Anyone notice any similar initials from the name of the score an perhaps some corporation?

The FICO, which to the average layperson, who typically falls asleep when sitting and trying to listen to the scientific explanation of FICO, seems to be utterly confusing. Ever changing and updating each time that any new information is gathered or entered into it’s database, credit scores can be hard to understand. Scoring systems may even sound ingenious and while this may be true, there are still several problems facing credit scoring, some of which are scientific in nature.

When using statistics for anything, several problems can arise, such as the “r” value or whether something occurred simply out of dumb luck and can be termed an “anomaly” or random act or whether it was the “average” stuff that we are looking for. Finding averages can be pretty hard when it comes to us humans and all of our random wacky acts.

Placing people in “ranges” when it comes to scores, such as the consumers who score 650-700 on their credit report, can be detrimental to some in the group. Consumers in this group who display different financial habits than the average group member can be hurt by the bad financial decisions of their group, or in turn, sometimes for the people in the same group who display bad habits, their score can still end up higher than it should because of the good habits of the rest of it’s group.

What I guess I am trying to get at is that it seems that the FICO scoring system, while good at predicting statistical trends for large groups of people, falls short when it comes to the individual credit applicant. It seems that when nothing about a persons individual situation is considered, the impersonal and “fast and easy” automation can really affect some consumers, both positively and negatively. I would personally hate to be one of those people trapped in the 650-700 range and automatically judged by the worst behavior of the entire groups bad apple.

My grandmother always use to say, every family has a bad apple in it. I guess when you lump together a group of so many individuals and expect to find an “average” behavior, we are all just humans and choose to do some wacky things and display behavior simply uncharacteristic to us and yet remain still judged in the same category. How does the behavior of people in your credit group affect you and what a wacky bunch of scientists who could have made it easier by just going out and getting laid, instead of dreaming up this system that haunts credit applicants everywhere.

Your credit report is available to you right now, you just have to reach out and grab it. The only thing that seems to me to hold people back is that they simply don’t know that the report is there for the taking, for free, right now. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is a Federal law which requires each of the Big 3 Major Credit Reporting Agencies to provide each and every American citizen with a free copy of your credit report, at your request. This law does not require you to have any reason other than curiosity to take a look at your report once every 12 months.

What keeps people from actually taking advantage of this terrific federal law? It seems that the only thing keeping them from clicking on the website or calling the phone number or even sending a simple letter in the mail is knowledge. No one seems to realize that these credit reports are available for free at any time, all it takes is a little initiative and filling out a simple form. The Federal Trade Commission or the nation’s consumer protection agency, is assigned the job of enforcing the FCRA and making sure these Consumer Reporting Companies don’t treat us consumers unfairly.

They are in charge of making sure to promote the privacy and accuracy of the information in the files of the Big 3 Credit Reporting Agencies. Your credit repot contains information on where you live, how your bills are paid and even arrest records. The Fair Credit Reporting Act was established to help protect this private information, making sure it does not fall into the wrong hands.

However, it seems that we are allowed to at least view our own information to verify it is accurate finally.The Major Credit Reporting Agencies were required by this law to establish a website, a toll free number and a mailing address with information and links to obtain these free credit reports. To order, you simply need to fill out a simple form and submit it in whichever form you desire. It is not possible to simply contact the consumer reporting companies and request it, you must go through the correct channels to get the report for free.

You may order your reports from each of the three nationwide consumer reporting companies at the same time, or you can order your report from each of the companies one at a time. The law allows you to order one free copy of your report from each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies every 12 months.

There is only one website out there that can actually help you to obtain the free copy of your report. However, many other sites are springing up claiming to offer a “free” credit report, but once you get down to the “fine print” it is easy to see that the “free” report is only good for a short time and in order to get the free report, you must subscribe to the site. It turns out that what these “imposter” sites are really offering you is simply a “trial period” after which you are charged on a monthly basis for these services and to still be able to view your report.

This “free” service suddenly converts to one you have to pay for after a trial period. If you don’t cancel during the trial period, you are agreeing to let the company start charging fees to your credit card. Why do you think they would ask for your credit card number anyway, if they weren’t intending to charge it.

In order to obtain your free credit reports, all three of them, from the site governed by federal law, you are not in any way shape or form required to enter any credit card information. Credit Report Repair can be done simply and by yourself with time and simple tools, you just need to know the right techniques. Obtaining your credit report is the first step to improving your credit score and fix your credit rating. Even the Federal Trade Commission has stated that “anything a credit repair company can do for you legally, you can do for yourself”.

Go out and get your credit report now and you can start improving your score and fixing your credit. Knowing your score and what is on your report can help you to take the first step and begin your credit repair. You simply need the right program to help you to repair your own credit and a good education about credit score repair.

Make sure you find the right one, with great feedback from its happy clients and a long term presence and you can be on your way to fixing your own score yourself using a simple book to get you there. Make sure you log on, pick up the phone or send out the mail and get your free credit report today and start raising your credit score.

Sometimes I spend weeks without even a thought as to my credit score or report statistics. But, as someone who works in the credit industry, I am absolutely shocked at how many people have never given ANY thought to their report. None. Nothing. Never even guessed at what it may say.

I was talking to a woman last week who was well into her forties and had never once checked her score. She had no idea what scores were possible and had no idea how it worked. She even asked if it was rated on a 1-10 scale or what. It was amazing to me, someone who checks every couple of weeks on a schedule, just to be sure. Well, the first thing that came to my mind, was the fact that she must have some damn good credit, pulling up in her Corvette. To have no idea what ones score was and yet still own a car like that, and she owned two homes, required good credit.

To not have ever been challenged or to have to think about what interest rate you may receive from a lender must give that woman real piece of mind. She has never checked because she was doing well and had never had a situation arise that forced her to take a good look at her credit. Good for her….but for the rest of us “normal” folks out there, our scores are ever changing and sometimes it seems a constant battle to keep it where you want it.

Your credit score plays a major impact on your wallet, from credit card rates to the home loan with the right terms, it can make a big difference in your monthly payments when your interest rate is too high. Your credit report is now even being pulled when it comes to things such as housing rental applications and some employment offers. It can really pay to be educated when it comes to credit scoring and know how to keep your score at the right number for you.

Make sure you buy a good credit report book and become educated and you can fix your credit yourself. Even the Federal trade Commission has stated right on their website that “anything that a credit reporting agency can do for you, you can do for yourself.” Get in the know when it comes to your credit score. It can be pretty simple to raise your credit score and improve your rating, sometimes in only a matter of weeks if you know what you are doing.

The Credit Rules and Acts out there are written for the consumer and to help the consumer. When used well, the right techniques, letters and tips can help anyone to fix their own credit and raise their credit score to obtain the most desired and of course lowest interest rates around.

You can find ads everywhere selling systems, programs and ways to help you fix your credit in a hurry. Most of these ads seem to enjoy leading with such ludicrous statements like “My credit score jumped 300 points in only 3 hours” or “Smash your debt with only 2 letters” or even “Create a new credit file in only a couple of hours”. It makes you wonder if any of these claims are too good to be true. Well let me say that the answer is both true and false that ALL of these letters seem too good to true.

While many people tend to think that the only thing that can actually fix credit is time, in reality, there are a ton of things out there that can help you to repair your credit score yourself. Time is only one piece in the big puzzle that is credit score repair today. Many different tips and techniques can be applied and all that is required from someone is a little education to fix a credit score or simply raise it to where you want it to be.

Even the Federal Trade Commission states that “anything a credit repair clinic can do for you legally, you can do for yourself at little or no cost”. The key element to anyone’s success seems to be knowing the latest inside techniques and procedures that these credit repair companies use. These involve strategies that have been used for years by credit repair agencies and bureaus to fix consumers credit. Strategies that have become known by names like “Proof of Contract”, “Challenge of Procedure” or “Constructive Notice” are just a few, there are many others.

Even though these terms may sound impressive to the layperson, they are nothing but simple really. What it all boils down to is nothing more than a method of communication that exercises your consumer protection rights and helps consumers to get the results they want. The Federal Trade Commission along with the Credit Rules and Acts set forth by our government are written to aid the consumer and are “pro-consumer” or written for the average person not the Credit Reporting Agencies. Really the rules and acts were written to “Protect” the consumer from these agencies and any unfair practices used by them.

While many people would love to keep you believing that time is the only thing to change your credit score, it is good that obviously you have proved, by reading this article, that you want more information and are willing to educate yourself and fix your own credit score now. Even though the “actual work” for fixing your credit report will take very little of your time, it is vitally important that the information that you use and arm yourself with is good and how you go about it is using the correct techniques.

9 out of 10 courses on restoring your credit will do nothing but lead you into the bureaus snake pit. Once there, it is hard to get out or help yourself at all. Understanding that the Fair Credit Reporting Act, a consumer protection law, which states that “the only negative information which can remain on your credit report is not what is accurate, but what can be PROVED as such” is the first step to understanding what these credit repair companies don’t want you to know.

This is the tool and technique that the 9 out of 10 books will try to help you use, by sending out letters and communication, to try and remove your negative items and improve your score. Under the guidelines of the FCRA, it is definetely hard for these credit bureaus to Prove something as accurate. This works very well for consumers when fixing their scores, but lures people to these self-help books claiming to fix your credit fast, without any real meaningful data. There are books and programs out there that can help you, just make sure you don’t go out and buy the first “cheap” one out there just to find out the information is outdated and never really worked for anyone.

When using one of these credit repair schemes from the wrong book, consumers tend to use the outdated “boiler-plate” dispute letters to help with removing negative items. These letters tend to be outdated and are rarely effective. Nothing more than form letters, these techniques quite frankly may give the credit bureaus and creditors a good laugh at your attempts. Now, don’t get me wrong, there are definetely programs out there which can help the average layperson to fix their own credit and do it the right way. These programs are harder to find, but the good news is that it is for a reason.

The good credit report programs that help you to do-it-yourself are out there, they are just not as cheesy and cheap as the others. If you can find a good program for around $10 on how to fix your own credit, it is no wonder that it is only $10.

Anything that is going to really help you would be worth it and show testimonials from happy customers, have been around for a long time and prove with the information it provides in the sales form, that it is different from the rest and contains some actual knowledge. A good credit report repair program will also offer a money back guarantee and support information as well.

Free access to your Credit Report and credit score from all three major reporting agencies is available to you right now, with no reason from you other than curiosity. And in this case, I can not imagine that cursiousity is going to kill anyone’s cat. The FCRA or Fair Credit Reporting Act guarantee’s one’s right to a copy of their credit report at their request.

They have set up a helpful website in order to get this information out there to the public of course which can be viewed at any time for more information. The Federal Trade Commission, who governs over this law, also has required the 3 major reporting agencies to provide a phone number, toll free, and a mailing address in addition to the website to obtain your credit report and apply online for your free credit report score.

You can glance at these reports once a year, for free which can be quite helpful and for someone who is unaware of one’s current score, very helpful in the start of one’s credit education. However, credit scores can change in a matter of months and sometimes even as fast as a couple of weeks due to consumer activity. Consumer activity can cause a credit score to raise or lower quickly with certain activity. For example, when shopping for a vehicle many consumers will shop different lots in order to find the right one for them, perhaps filling out a credit application in the process.

When applying for an auto loan, it may be sent by the dealer at the automotive agency to many different buyer to obtain the right loan or the right rates for that loan from the best lending company. In order to do that, your credit will be run several times, how many depending on the auto dealer and his finance department really. Each and every time your cerdit is run, your score is lessened with most scoring systems, including the ones used by the 3 major reporting agencies and credit bureaus. There is a cap on the number of times your score can be lowered due to it being run by some corporation or other, but there is no cap on the list that remains on your report as to who has run your credit.

When applying for credit or filling out an application for a loan soon, this will show up ojn your report along with your score and make lenders question as to why you did not obtain a loan or credit through these lenders although your credit was pulled. Make sure to stay educated when it comes to your credit and visit the official big three website to obtain your free credit report today. Remember however, that your score can change quickly and it is a good idea to keep better track of something that can have such an impact on your life and pocket book. When applying for a loan or credit, your credit score is what determines your interest rate, which determines of course, how much money you will have to shell out of your pocketbook in order to obtain the money you desire.

Being able to constantly look at your report and score from the major credit bureaus is very important to credit repair and staying on top of score. Credit scores can change in weeks and you need to be able to know when such things happen to of course, fix if if you are able. Most people are surprised how many different types of negative items, bad debt or other types of credit bureau reporting items are able to be removed from their scores and reports completely if done correctly and with the right know how. There are many different credit books and help programs out there available out there to help people to fix their own credit and improve their credit score themselves.

Make sure to find the right self-help credit book for fixing your credit score and improving your credit score, one with good testimonials and that has been around for quite some time, copyrighted recent of course. as credit is ever changing. Obtain your first free credit report as is your right through the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), and make sure that is you are proceeding with fixing your credit, that you sign up with the right website to view your credit reports online all year for a nominal fee. These sites are easy to find, the rates are pretty low, considering the good ones offer a look at all three major credit bureaus credit reports and scores for a year anytime. This is very valuable when considering looking for that loan suddenly and we all know that credit scores loom over one’s head when an application for something that we need suddenly appears before us.

Get your credit score fixed, get your credit score now for free and start your credit education by reading the articles, books, programs and websites necessary to get in the know for your credit repair. It can be simple to fix your own credit, once you obtain the right program and start using the letters and communication formats to fix your own credit now. I might mention how nice those loans will look suddenly when the interest rates plummet and your monthly payments almost seem silly compared to what they were before the re-finance.