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Chapter 13 Finally Discharged ~ Starting to Rebuild ~ Advice/Suggestions?

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Anonymous
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Chapter 13 Finally Discharged ~ Starting to Rebuild ~ Advice/Suggestions?

Hi!  

 

I APOLOGIZE IN ADVANCE, THIS IS GOING TO BE LONG....

 

I just found this forum last week and have been reading and learning so much.  I am very grateful for all the information on these boards and thought I'd post my story and see if anyone has any advice / suggestions, etc.

 

After several years of medical problems, the birth of our first (and only) child, loss of 1 income, 2 deaths in the family & a failed business attempt, we found ourselves in a place we never- ever thought we'd be. We tried to hold out as long as we possibly could-  using our cards to partially supplement our income to cover the negatives each month for proably 2 years- trying to avoid what was the inevitible. We hit rock bottom in 2010 and had to file for chapter 13. Going into it, we hadn't missed 1 single pymt on our many, many high limit cards- which I now know was a stupid, stupid move. I can honestly say it was probably the worst day of my life.  Prior to all of this, we had perfect credit 800+ and now we couldn't get anny lower.  

 

The last 5 years were tough.  Depresion, regret, helplessness, worthlessness..... Sometimes not knowing how we'd make it through. We were fine w/the day to day expenses but it got quite challenging as the cars got really old and showed there age.  But, I can honestly say I am a much stronger person coming out of this.  We accept full responsibility for where our previous actions led and am determined to never, ever end up back down that dark road.

 

I am happy to say that we completely finished our chapter 13 plan and we received our discharge the 2nd week of July, 2015.  Now, to start the road back to good credit.  This is where I can use all your expert advice  Smiley Happy

 

I'm at a stay at home mom ( I do ebay now that my son is in school full time- am registered as a small business , have my city's permits and such and do file & pay taxes on everything- even though it's really not much but it does help) and my husband has a great job that he's been in for 20+ years.  

2 weeks after our discharge we got pre-approved offers for Merrick Bank & Credit One---- which we accepted, because we thought wow! someone's really going to take a chance with us so soon and we needed something.  Fast forward to last week, I founf this forum and started reading all of your extremly valuable insight & tips.

I checked our credit reports and I had to dispute 2 accounts on my report that were showing a balance even though they were discharged in the chapter 13 (on equifax)- still being investigated.  DH's fico was 582.  The Merrick Bank & Credit One showed a few days later on his CR and his score went to 602.  Mine is 586 on TU and 632 on Equifax.  

 

Now, here's the big suprise- I about fell off my chair.... We did the Capital One prequalify site that we saw on here- thinking maybe he could get one of the starter cards.  He put in his info & it showed pre-qualified for the Venture card. I had to laugh, obviously there was mistake somewhere.  Put in all of his info & he was approved! I have no idea how but he was approved for the Venture card with a $15,000.00 starting line!  We even called Capital One to make sure we were reading it right, lol.   In the prequalifier, I was pre-qualified for a card but didn't go through w/it because I don't have a real, verifiable source of income- my dh is the one with the income.  The same night, we were also approved for a Barclays rewards card for $1500 and a Overstock card for $5000.00.  I am very, very grateful for these companies willing to take us on.  We included most of the big banks in our chapter 13 so I doubt we'll ever see a prime card from one of them again, but that's the price for our mistakes.

 

The only other thing active on our credit report is our mortgage through Chase, which we reaffirmed and kept paying directly to Chase through the whole plan.  We've been w/ Chase mortgage 15+ years and they have our account as "current / never late".   

 

So, here's my questions.... do we keep the credit one and merrick for the 1st year and then cancel so at least we get them reporting?  I already paid the fees anyways.  

What is the best way (amounts/ %'s ) to charge and pay?  Do we keep some at zero and never use or charge a small amount and pay right away?  The Venture card came with a 40,000 point sign on bonus, if we charge $3,000 in the 1st 3 months.  I have airline tickets to purchase for a trip we're taking the end of Nov that I'll use it for (I already have the cash in the bank to pay for them) and use it for our utilities, gas and groceries - stuff we'd normally have to purchase anyways.  Do I pay it in full in 1 paymeant then or split into several payments?  

 

I am so sorry this ended up being so long. I am just really overwhelmed right now and don't want to make any more mistakes.  Thanks to any and all who can offer some guidance! Open to any and all suggestions and advice. Thanks!!

Message 1 of 5
4 REPLIES 4
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Chapter 13 Finally Discharged ~ Starting to Rebuild ~ Advice/Suggestions?

Congrats on completing a long, arduous plan. I know it takes a lot of work and you should be proud of yourselves.

 

As far as some of your questions, I will leave it to other, more experienced posters. Congrats on your new lines of credit! It's awesome to see your hard work pay off.

Message 2 of 5
Vegas4Play
Valued Contributor

Re: Chapter 13 Finally Discharged ~ Starting to Rebuild ~ Advice/Suggestions?

Congrats Brightdays and they will get brighter. I would say keep the 2 cards open for at least a year. I have read may times on here that yoyu need 3 cards to rebuild with to optimize scoring. You have already taken the hard pull for them right? and fees are paid for now. Just my .02, and congrats on the cap one card we were pre-qualed  to but I am gun shy right now. Maybe next month for us ( maybeeeee). Good luck to you.

Fico 8's TU 756/ EQ 754/ EX 743- 8/2020// AAoA 5.7 years // Lines August 2020 = 619k Personal - Business 61k // Inquiries 6 TU - 0 Exp - 0 Eq.
Message 3 of 5
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Chapter 13 Finally Discharged ~ Starting to Rebuild ~ Advice/Suggestions?

Thank you so much for your kind words!  And good luck to you on your journey. It looks like you're off to a great start!!  Smiley Happy

Message 4 of 5
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Chapter 13 Finally Discharged ~ Starting to Rebuild ~ Advice/Suggestions?

Hi! Thanks !!  We didn't get hard pulls for the credit one - at least they're not showing yet on our cr's; the Merrick bank is in my name and i do have a hp showing for that one.  We'll keep them for the year and cancel before we have to pay the fees again next year.  

We were really nervous to try the CP too, but read on here that their pre qualify site is pretty accurate so we figured we'd give it a shot and so happy we did.  I wish you lots of luck with getting the CP and on your rebuild as well. Thanks again!!

Message 5 of 5
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