Dear Creditnet: I know that my credit utilization ratio makes up a large part of my FICO credit score.  I've also read that it's important to keep my ratio under 30%, or preferably at 10% or less. My question is would it be better to keep my credit utilization ratio at 0% or 10%?  If I pay my balance off every week and my credit utilization is reported at 0%, is that hurting my FICO scores?

In May of 2011 the Sapphire Preferred® Card began offering 50,000 bonus points to new cardholders who spent $3,000 within the first 3 months. Chase has been running this same promotion ever since, but the strange thing is we recently received notice that the wording "Limited Time Offer" must be inserted into their marketing copy. I'm not exactly sure what the reasoning is for the change or if this promotion will end very soon, but what I can say is I've actually been surprised the deal has been running for so long. Most deals like this don't last for almost a year, so I wouldn't count on it lasting much longer in 2012. In fact, word on the street is that it may get pulled sometime before the 2nd quarter. So why should you care?

President Obama took the opportunity yesterday, while lawmakers were on recess, to appoint Richard Cordray as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) first director.  The move is sure to ruffle a lot of feathers among Republicans in Washington D.C., but apparently Obama was sick and tired of watching the CFPB sit on the sidelines making suggestions that no one was obligated to listen to. They'll be a lot of partisan bickering regarding Obama's actions over the next few weeks, but I don't think most Americans really care about that.  The fact is Cordray is in, and he's probably not going anywhere for awhile.

I think I might vomit if I have to read one more "10 steps to financial freedom in 2012" blog post. They all say the same things.  Make a budget, track every penny you spend, build an emergency fund...blah, blah, blah! Don't get me wrong.  Those are each important parts of personal finance, but aren't you bored of reading the same old stuff?  I certainly am.  So I'd like to take a different spin on things for my first post of 2012. Want to destroy your credit this year?  Here's 10 ways to make it happen:

[caption id="attachment_5920" align="alignleft" width="500" caption=" "]Photo by Creativity103[/caption]

You probably have a list of 50 things to do today as you prepare to ring in 2012 with friends and family, but I'll bet most of them will cost you money.  Here's a quick task to add to your New Year's Eve list that will actually save you some money in 2012.

To save on your 2011 tax bill, take an hour this afternoon and rummage through your closets for old clothes, toys, and household items that are just taking up valuable space.  If you come across something and it hasn't been used in 6 months, get rid of it.  Don't try to talk yourself into keeping it around because there's the slight chance you might need it at some point in the future.

Trust me, if you haven't used that old t-shirt you won at the state fair 3 years ago, you're never going to need it.  Donate it to someone who will, and earn yourself a little tax break.