HOW TO: From BK7 discharge to 700 in 24 months or less!

[Scupra]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hi all, I'm looking for some advice on how I should proceed after filing for BK (filed in 10/2014, discharge received in late 1/2015).  I was about to sign up for a secured card when I found this website.  The plan laid out here looks great, and I think I'm going to give it a go.  I do have a question about the my Fico ScoreCard thing.  It is $25 per month.  Please excuse my ignorance, but I guess I just don't fully understand what having this subscription provides to me.  Is it just to be able to get my credit score every 6 months?  Are there other advantages, or other ways to get my credit score every 6 months without having to pay $25 per month?  On a whim, my husband decided to apply for a credit card over the weekend through Cap 1 and he was approved for a $2,000 CL card.  His credit was better than mine prior to filing, so I'm hesitant to just jump in and apply for a card.  I'd like to take my time and strategically plan out how to improve my credit.

I appreciate all the knowledge on this forum! 

~N

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Click under "compare our products" so you can read about what it provides you with. You will get an alert when your score changes dur to certain things. You will get refreshed reports once per year also. There are other ways to get your score, most will be what we call "FAKO's" though. Credit karma is great for keeping track of updates, the score is just useless.

After you make sure your reports are accurate I would say Cap1 is a great start for you! Good luck

[Anonymous]

DISCHARGE!!!

I'm so happy! I finally made it across the finish line. Now it's the start line of the rebuilding process I got my ScoreWatch subscription set up and I'm just waiting for my CR to reflect my discharge to apply for the CreditOne card. I already did all the disputes while waiting so all my accounts show IIB/$0 balance already - yay. This guide has been really helpful already and I'm just getting started! I do have to get an auto loan shortly as my previous lender is chomping at the bit to get their car back, but otherwise I'm gonna do my best to stick to this plan closely so I can get a house in 2 years.

OK, enough preening, a quick question. Can someone explain how the credit builder loans work? Is it just that you make a payment that then gets disbursed into the CU account every month? I'm looking at the Navy Federal "Shares Secured Loan" which I think is the right thing, but I guess I am just not getting how it works. Do I need to have $1000 to put up at first? Clarity, anyone?

[Anonymous]

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@cjsiege wrote:

DISCHARGE!!!

I'm so happy! I finally made it across the finish line. Now it's the start line of the rebuilding process I got my ScoreWatch subscription set up and I'm just waiting for my CR to reflect my discharge to apply for the CreditOne card. I already did all the disputes while waiting so all my accounts show IIB/$0 balance already - yay. This guide has been really helpful already and I'm just getting started! I do have to get an auto loan shortly as my previous lender is chomping at the bit to get their car back, but otherwise I'm gonna do my best to stick to this plan closely so I can get a house in 2 years.

OK, enough preening, a quick question. Can someone explain how the credit builder loans work? Is it just that you make a payment that then gets disbursed into the CU account every month? I'm looking at the Navy Federal "Shares Secured Loan" which I think is the right thing, but I guess I am just not getting how it works. Do I need to have $1000 to put up at first? Clarity, anyone?

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Congratulations on your new start!

A Shared Secured loan is just that, a loan which is secured by the shares (dollars) in your savings account. I believe the smallest NFCU goes is $250 or $300. The secured shares are locked. You can not access them because they are the security for the loan.

However, as payments are made, the amount being secured is reduced and the locked funds become available again. The biggest benefit is that the interest charged is ridiculously low.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the explanation! Well crap. I definitely don't have $1000 I can just have locked up in something like that. Should I take out one for the minimum $250-300 and work on paying that off, or should I not bother and do something else (or nothing) until I have $1000 to use?

[Anonymous]

I can tell you that my husband's $300 Share Secured loan bumped his score about 20 points.  I think it's worth it.

[Anonymous]

When my student loans reopen after BK will they report as a loan so I don't have to do a credit builder? Or should I do both?

[grassfeeder]

Boom!  Discover and Cap One Venture all in a weeks time.....and now I'll hibernate....

[Anonymous]

OK so talk to me about getting an auto loan. 

I applied to C1 and they said no, called for recon and they said they don't do that. Ok. I applied to Prestige prior to discharge and they also said no; called them today and they said to re-apply. I want to minimize the number of inquiries I get here as I've already gotten two and I still need to get my CreditOne card and NFCU credit builder. My credit report is fine and all my accounts are $0/IIB. Do I let the dealer shotgun it out? Re-apply to Prestige? Try Santander or another subprime? What is the optimal move?

[DaveInAZ]

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@Anonymous wrote:
When my student loans reopen after BK will they report as a loan so I don't have to do a credit builder? Or should I do both?

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Your student loans - if they report as current, never late - should be enough, installment loans account for only 10% of your credit score, revolving (CCs) credit impactt your scrore much more heavily. If your student loans have some problems, you might consider a Self Lender installment "loan".