OT: General OT Thread #43 - Fugu Appreciation Thread

[BigT2002]

I don't mind cool weather, in fact I'm a big fan of January and February and dropping below 0 temps, but labor day is usually the sign post for the end of summer approaching.

51 and raining is a terrible end to summer holiday weather.

Same. But I also love sleeping in the cold and it saves me money because the A/C isn't on all dang day. It'll be even more enjoyable this year since I moved to a 100% remote position at a different company back in May. Not regretting that one bit considering the stresses are completely different than where I was before.

 

[TaLoN]

I just got myself a new wireless keyboard and mouse for my desktop pc at home (yes I still use one of those, but hey it's a nice setup with a 48" TV as a monitor sitting across the room from a couch). My first impression? You get what you pay for!

My last set were both around $30 each and as they aged, it was clear that they were the wrong set for the job. The range was always spotty to begin with, but then line of site with the range became an issue as well and next thing you know I'm leaning forward and making sure nothing is obstructing to even use.

Last week I said screw it, looked for a new set... this time I spend $80+ for the Logitech MX Ergo mouse and $90 for the MX Keys keyboard also from Logitech. They arrived today and I just got them setup... and holy crap are these things awesome! The range is fantastic! I'm back to sitting kicked back on my couch in the loft over 8 feet away from the pc with zero line of site and there is no issue at all. Range for both is listed at 10 meters

The keys on the keyboard light up with my fingers just getting close. and I love that the mouse has a 20 degree magnetic tilt. They charge via usb, so no need to replace batteries every so often anymore either. Very solid construction, both have significant weighty feel to them, not a cheap empty plastic feel.

VERY happy with both!

 

[BigT2002]

Couldn't do that ball on the side, but the keyboard looks sharp! I have the older version of it and love the keyboard. Considering its been 12 hour days since basically May....paying extra for something that gets this kind of mileage is totally worth it! Great pick up!

 

[TaLoN]

Couldn't do that ball on the side, but the keyboard looks sharp! I have the older version of it and love the keyboard. Considering its been 12 hour days since basically May....paying extra for something that gets this kind of mileage is totally worth it! Great pick up!

I made the switch to the thumb style trackball years ago. It took a little getting used to initially, but once used to it, it's so comfortable and easy to use (especially since most of the time it's sitting next to me on the couch lol).

The keyboard, the keys are all inlaid on a single solid piece of some type of brushed metal plate. Weight is listed at 1.8 lbs, the mouse is listed at .5 lbs.

I haven't tried it out yet, but both are able to work on 2 systems at once. I could set them up with my laptop as well, moving the mouse to the edge of the screen would switch the mouse from one system to the other, also automatically switching the keyboard as well. The mouse can literally drag items to copy from one system to the other.

 

[HotDish]

Is there anything more messed up than a credit score? I'm in my 20s planning to buy my first house. I have a good amount of money saved up and have more than enough for a down payment. I'm looking at houses below my pre approval range too. Well the other day I got in contact with someone to help working on a mortgage for me. However, they came back to me saying that I don't have enough credit history. I have a credit card, but I don't use it often if really ever.

I've always been good with my money so if there is ever a bill that comes up I can pay for it with money i budgeted for. I just think it is frustrating that someone can check all the boxes, but they can't trust you because of your credit score.

Their suggestion was to get 3 credit cards and buy something nice for myself to build more history and score. I just feel like that is so backwards. I don't consider myself very frugal, but I also don't like spending money fruitlessly. I guess I have to go to REI and pick up more kayaking and camping gear so i can buy a house...

 

[57special]

You don't have to buy big items. I use credit cards for all of my food and other shopping. If you pay your bills on time religiously, your credit score will shoot up, though it does take some time.

Good luck with the house hunting.

 

[Victorious Secret]

Also, there's many variations of credit score. For your situation and wanting a mortgage, look up what type of credit score (and rating agency) the mortgage lender uses and try to optimize (FICO 2 vs FICO 4 vs FICO 8 etc...)

 

[Jesus comma Brodin]

Is there anything more messed up than a credit score? I'm in my 20s planning to buy my first house. I have a good amount of money saved up and have more than enough for a down payment. I'm looking at houses below my pre approval range too. Well the other day I got in contact with someone to help working on a mortgage for me. However, they came back to me saying that I don't have enough credit history. I have a credit card, but I don't use it often if really ever.

I've always been good with my money so if there is ever a bill that comes up I can pay for it with money i budgeted for. I just think it is frustrating that someone can check all the boxes, but they can't trust you because of your credit score.

Their suggestion was to get 3 credit cards and buy something nice for myself to build more history and score. I just feel like that is so backwards. I don't consider myself very frugal, but I also don't like spending money fruitlessly. I guess I have to go to REI and pick up more kayaking and camping gear so i can buy a house...

I am not a mortgage consultant or anything like that but I do know a lot about the credit side of things thanks to purchasing a few homes in in my 20's. I am 29 now so I have a few pals going through this now as well.

The thing with your situation is that you have no credit history and whoever is lending you the money has no proof that you pay on time. They have no evidence of on-time payments. It is too big of a risk for them because in their eyes, you are wild card. No credit is better than bad credit but it still is not good . In terms of a FICO score, 35% of that score is payment history, which it sounds like you have very little. Another huge chunk of the score is the length of your credit history, which does not seem that long either. Without these things, the lender is taking on far too much risk.

There a few ways to increase your credit history and scores, aside from applying for 3 cards, which would actually hurt your score in the short-run, but would help in the long-run assuming you paid everything in full. Each one of those applications would require a full-scale credit inquiry, which is not good.

A Few Options:

Secured Credit Card. It is a credit card that you must put up a cash deposit as collateral up-front. Use the card as normal, pay on time, the bank just keeps your deposit in case you do not pay for this. They assume no risk because the deposit you make is equivalent to what your credit max will be but you gain the history of payments and good credit characteristics.

Another way is to become an authorized user on a parent/sibling/friend's credit card. You do not have to even get a card, just having your name as an authorized user will add that cards history to your report. It is not going to drastically change your score, but it does help. Just make sure this person has a perfect payment history and will continue to do so.

Wait until your score improves before buying, and don't fall for a lender that will give you a loan anyways, the interest rate will be astronomical.

 

[HotDish]

I am not a mortgage consultant or anything like that but I do know a lot about the credit side of things thanks to purchasing a few homes in in my 20's. I am 29 now so I have a few pals going through this now as well.

The thing with your situation is that you have no credit history and whoever is lending you the money has no proof that you pay on time. They have no evidence of on-time payments. It is too big of a risk for them because in their eyes, you are wild card. No credit is better than bad credit but it still is not good . In terms of a FICO score, 35% of that score is payment history, which it sounds like you have very little. Another huge chunk of the score is the length of your credit history, which does not seem that long either. Without these things, the lender is taking on far too much risk.

There a few ways to increase your credit history and scores, aside from applying for 3 cards, which would actually hurt your score in the short-run, but would help in the long-run assuming you paid everything in full. Each one of those applications would require a full-scale credit inquiry, which is not good.

A Few Options:

Secured Credit Card. It is a credit card that you must put up a cash deposit as collateral up-front. Use the card as normal, pay on time, the bank just keeps your deposit in case you do not pay for this. They assume no risk because the deposit you make is equivalent to what your credit max will be but you gain the history of payments and good credit characteristics.

Another way is to become an authorized user on a parent/sibling/friend's credit card. You do not have to even get a card, just having your name as an authorized user will add that cards history to your report. It is not going to drastically change your score, but it does help. Just make sure this person has a perfect payment history and will continue to do so.

Wait until your score improves before buying, and don't fall for a lender that will give you a loan anyways, the interest rate will be astronomical.

Yes this is the route i might be going on. I talked to my parents and they would also be willing to sign on my loan as well just for a bank to have another person to go after if i defaulted. I would be the one that makes all the payments of course.

 

[Jesus comma Brodin]

Yes this is the route i might be going on. I talked to my parents and they would also be willing to sign on my loan as well just for a bank to have another person to go after if i defaulted. I would be the one that makes all the payments of course.

Best of luck.

 

[Soldier13Fox]

I'm a long time mortgage underwriter. As long as the traditional credit you do have doesn't have blemishes (a card that you don't use often is fine, as long as you don't have any lates) there should be plenty of options to establish non-traditional credit. Cell phone, insurance, rent, cable bill, hell ... even an established savings plan works a lot of the time. Depending on the program you're looking to use having insufficient credit may restrict your maximum debt ratios and may require a larger down payment, but you should have some options. If they are just flat out telling you no based off of insufficient credit without digging deeper, find another lender.

EDIT: However, if your credit report is coming back with at least two FICO scores and the lower of the two is below the program minimum ... there's not much to be done until the scores are increased.

 

[Dee Oh Cee]

I'm a long time mortgage underwriter. As long as the traditional credit you do have doesn't have blemishes (a card that you don't use often is fine, as long as you don't have any lates) there should be plenty of options to establish non-traditional credit. Cell phone, insurance, rent, cable bill, hell ... even an established savings plan works a lot of the time. Depending on the program you're looking to use having insufficient credit may restrict your maximum debt ratios and may require a larger down payment, but you should have some options. If they are just flat out telling you no based off of insufficient credit without digging deeper, find another lender.

EDIT: However, if your credit report is coming back with at least two FICO scores and the lower of the two is below the program minimum ... there's not much to be done until the scores are increased.

Hey, me too. Well, not an extremely long time. About ~4 years or so now.

 

[Soldier13Fox]

Hey, me too. Well, not an extremely long time. About ~4 years or so now.

Nice. About 16 for me I think. I'm actually deployed right now and talking with my coworkers back home it sounds like a complete mess with all of the Covid issues. Good time to be gone I guess...

 

[HotDish]

I'm a long time mortgage underwriter. As long as the traditional credit you do have doesn't have blemishes (a card that you don't use often is fine, as long as you don't have any lates) there should be plenty of options to establish non-traditional credit. Cell phone, insurance, rent, cable bill, hell ... even an established savings plan works a lot of the time. Depending on the program you're looking to use having insufficient credit may restrict your maximum debt ratios and may require a larger down payment, but you should have some options. If they are just flat out telling you no based off of insufficient credit without digging deeper, find another lender.

EDIT: However, if your credit report is coming back with at least two FICO scores and the lower of the two is below the program minimum ... there's not much to be done until the scores are increased.

Yeah I never had a late fee or anything it just i rarely have used my card. They didn't tell me flat out no, just that I should try and raise it in the coming months. My timeline was Nov/Dec to get a place. I was going through my bank since I was hoping they could see my financials plus cash flow i have incoming. I totally understand I'm a pretty big unknown though.

 

[Uberdachen]

Credit scores are lubrication to get you ready for bullshit like PMI.

 

[TaLoN]

Is there anything more messed up than a credit score? I'm in my 20s planning to buy my first house. I have a good amount of money saved up and have more than enough for a down payment. I'm looking at houses below my pre approval range too. Well the other day I got in contact with someone to help working on a mortgage for me. However, they came back to me saying that I don't have enough credit history. I have a credit card, but I don't use it often if really ever.

I've always been good with my money so if there is ever a bill that comes up I can pay for it with money i budgeted for. I just think it is frustrating that someone can check all the boxes, but they can't trust you because of your credit score.

Their suggestion was to get 3 credit cards and buy something nice for myself to build more history and score. I just feel like that is so backwards. I don't consider myself very frugal, but I also don't like spending money fruitlessly. I guess I have to go to REI and pick up more kayaking and camping gear so i can buy a house...

They have no history on you that says you are a trust worthy borrower. No activity on a card means no borrowing history.

My solution, instead of getting multiple credit cards, I got a line of credit attached to my checking account. Every so often I'd transfer money from that line of credit into my checking account... and within a week I transferred it back.

Creates borrowing history that shows regular re-payment without ever incurring interest on the borrowed money and doesn't force you to buy things you don't need.

I did that for a few years, never "actually" spending that borrowed money, just created the traffic for it.

I did that knowing when I cut up the only credit card I ever had back in '97, I needed something to "establish" credit with for when it came time to buy a house. By the time I bought my house in '06, my credit was actually really good, even though I had very few credit accounts ever established.

I had a car loan in '96. that got rolled into a different car loan in '97 when the trade didn't cover it... paid that off in 2000, after cutting up the credit card, it took me a couple years to pay that off (that previous car had swamped me in repairs I couldn't afford). Never took another car loan again and really restricted my buying at the time to "need" only purchases... anything that was a "want" I simply skipped.

That line of credit method I used was a credit savior for me. I just watched that score rise over time and was in good position by the time I was ready to buy.

 

[57special]

Interest rates are obviously insanely good right now. Prices on low/middle homes are pretty high and in demand. Higher end homes not so much. Many still are lower than the 2007-8 peak.

 

[MuckOG]

I cut the cord on cable and satellite a few years ago and went with You Tube TV. I love You Tube TV, but now that they dropped Fox Sports North, I'll be forced to look elsewhere.

I don't want to go back to cable, so I'm thinking my best option is Hulu Live. What do others think?

 

[TaLoN]

I cut the cord on cable and satellite a few years ago and went with You Tube TV. I love You Tube TV, but now that they dropped Fox Sports North, I'll be forced to look elsewhere.

I don't want to go back to cable, so I'm thinking my best option is Hulu Live. What do others think?

I think regional sports networks are dying because they've priced themselves out of everyone's "package" and the fans are losing out.

 

[Dudicles]

Is there anything more messed up than a credit score? I'm in my 20s planning to buy my first house. I have a good amount of money saved up and have more than enough for a down payment. I'm looking at houses below my pre approval range too. Well the other day I got in contact with someone to help working on a mortgage for me. However, they came back to me saying that I don't have enough credit history. I have a credit card, but I don't use it often if really ever.

I've always been good with my money so if there is ever a bill that comes up I can pay for it with money i budgeted for. I just think it is frustrating that someone can check all the boxes, but they can't trust you because of your credit score.

Their suggestion was to get 3 credit cards and buy something nice for myself to build more history and score. I just feel like that is so backwards. I don't consider myself very frugal, but I also don't like spending money fruitlessly. I guess I have to go to REI and pick up more kayaking and camping gear so i can buy a house...

Ultimately, a credit score is scam disguised as a good thing. It's meant as a gateway into getting people into debt by having credit cards/credit limits. There are other ways to gauge if someone can pay a loan. There's no reason having a stable job with little to no late payments on bills can't be weighted more heavily into giving out a loan. Instead, you're meant to use credit cards all the time to raise your score. Not having debt, and not having multiple or large lines of credit should never be viewed as a bad thing, but the banking world doesn't agree.

 

[Wild11MN]

Currently projected for 7.5" of snow here today. Thanks 2020.

Also, working from home is nice on days like today.

 

[HotDish]

I cut the cord on cable and satellite a few years ago and went with You Tube TV. I love You Tube TV, but now that they dropped Fox Sports North, I'll be forced to look elsewhere.

I don't want to go back to cable, so I'm thinking my best option is Hulu Live. What do others think?

my brother loves Hulu Live. I think Hulu is the best streaming service and adding tv on top of that seems like a real win.

 

[Victorious Secret]

There's no Hulu in Canada

 

[BigT2002]

Interest rates are obviously insanely good right now. Prices on low/middle homes are pretty high and in demand. Higher end homes not so much. Many still are lower than the 2007-8 peak.

Just refinanced to 2.25% -- saved roughly $400/mo on the mortgage. Would highly suggest if anyone here hasn't at least looked, you should.

 

[Minnewildsota]

Just refinanced to 2.25% -- saved roughly $400/mo on the mortgage. Would highly suggest if anyone here hasn't at least looked, you should.

Isn't the problem with refinancing they take the currently value of your home, as a new mortgage, in essense. Unfortunately, while interest rates may be low, mid-tier housing prices are at a near all time high.

Please correct me if I'm wrong on this.