I do get 0% balance transfer offers in the mail every week, just threw a few out yesterday. I don’t know how the balance transfer would work with stafford loans. Also, the 0% balance transfer lasts 1 yr, then goes to somewhere around 11%, so it would just push my payoff out that additional distance. While it would save some interest if I don’t pay it off now, I don’t see how delaying the payoff 1yr helps my credit. Perhaps it does, but I don’t understand how that would work. I also wonder how truly “preapproved” I really am given my previous experience, and I don’t care to be denied credit or have unnecessary credit checks. It is my understanding that each credit check lowers your score 5 points. Oh, and my credit score was 690 when the credit card fun was going on… should be higher now after 9 mo of responsible plastic activity. I don’t understand how a clean report and 690 score = “risky”, but there you have it.
I’m hesitant to get any more credit cards… I have two now in addition to the check card (detailed previously), and I don’t see how lots of plastic could be interpreted as “responsible”. Obviously my gut instints on credit have not been 100% on, so if anyone could speak to credit reporting’s “ideal” plastic setup (# cards, total limit/income, balance/total limit, etc) that would be quite informative.
I’ve thought (briefly) about getting a small loan just to pay it off to build credit, however I’m not convinced the ROI is really there as I don’t need a loan for anything short of a home purchase. My vehicles were purchased with cash and I have no need nor much desire to increase my transportation costs. 😛
Perhaps the answer is to keep the 7.14% stafford, pay $100 for the Zeal monthly, and add the payoff amount to my investments! If my ROI w/ Zeal’s recommendation is above the loan rate, this makes sense. If not… oops. 🙂
