My Story - 7 months post Chapter 7, (any advice??)

[Anonymous]

Hello Everyone,

Long time lurker on the forum, first post.  Before I begin, this forum has been a wealth of knowledge that has truly helped me along the way in making difficult choices and also helping me rebound from events that simply crippled me financially.  That said, I wanted to share with you all my progress and gain honest feedback as to what to do next, (if anything)….

My Story:

38 years old, went through a divorce in 2011, do very well salary wise.  Due to the divorce, I lost my home, toys, (vehicles and motorcycle, etc.), acquired tremendous debt along the way to try and stay afloat…now do not feel sorry for me as I know many have gone through what I did, worse in most cases.

Decision to file Chapter 7 was a tough one.  It took nearly 4 weeks of sleepless nights to decide to move forward.  The feeling of failure etc., was strong but I knew deep down it was the only way for me to close the chapter in my life and rebuild fresh.

Filed for Chapter 7 in October 2014, discharged January 2015.  Car was not reaffirmed so first thing I did in February was purchase a new car, (used vehicle, new to me).  Interest rate was 15.61% for 60 months, (total loan was $22k), price I knew I would have to pay.  In March, applied for CO card and received a Platinum card with a $500 limit.  Used the card and never went over 10% UTI and PIF all the time.  April applied for a CO QS card and received a $2000 limit.  The QS card I use daily, (I travel for work every week and opted out of a company card so all the card is used for is work things that I am reimbursed bi-weekly for so this has actually helped me quite a bit).  Saturday, 8/29, joined Pen Fed Credit Union and applied to re-fi my car moments after joining.  Was approved minutes after joining the CU and new interest rate is 5.60%, a 10 point decrease.  New loan is for a term of 36 months.  Yesterday, 8/30, applied for a Barclays card and approved for $2000 limit.

This is where I am at today, 7 months post Chapter 7.  I will not use my CO Platinum card nor the Barclays card, they will carry $0 each month.  My car will be paid off in 18 months as I will be making double payments.

Goal is in early 2017 to buy a home as I have to wait the 2 year period for an FHA after filing bankruptcy.

My Credit Karma scores are in the 670’s which means nothing but when Pen Fed refi’d my car the notice of approval said Equifax score was 646 so I assume across the board I am in the 640 range for true FICO scores. 

Now, with what I have written, do I just sit back, use my QS card the way I have been, (PIF every month except for a small amount to carry over each month), not use the other two cards and continue to pay my car on time and just wait to see how my report/scores are affected over the next 18 or so months, (18 months is goal to buy a home).

Thoughts, feedback, criticisms, etc.?

Thank you again, anyone can and would benefit from using this forum as a tool in starting over!

[Anonymous]

Hi!  Thanks for sharing your story.  Sorry to hear what you had to go through, but it seems as though you are bouncing back nicely.

I think you are doing all the right things.  Keep doing what you have been, and with time, your scores will go up with time.  They seem pretty fair, considering that you are not even one year out of BK.  After a year post discharge seems to be a milestone, from what I've seen on these boards, so you should hopefully see a jump in scores then.

You mentioned you got the CO cards in March.  Have you requested or been granted and CLI?  That should help as well.

Keep up the good work! :-)

[Anonymous]

Sounds like you are definitely moving forward. Nice move on refying the car. That should help a lot. I would put something minor through all the cards to keep them active, showing use. I would also keep an eye out on the prequals for Cap1. You might get a Venture or a second QS.

Keep up the good work!

[CH-7-Mission-Accomplished]

You are doing great!    You are smart to not want to add a whole bunch of cards.

I would add just one quality retail card if I were you.  Wait until 12 months post d/c and then get a Wal-Mart for the free FICO or Lowes for the high credit limit you can achieve within 24 months (35K).

I'm surprised to heard Penfed refinanced you so quickly!  I did not think they were BK friendly at all.  Any idea about them issuing a credit card with a fresh BK on file?

[Anonymous]

I have not requested CLI as of yet...it is on my radar of things to do.  

Regarding PenFed, I did quite a bit of research of CU's that are National as there are not many near me nor do the ones near me really seemed to be a good fit for me.  Pend Fed kept coming back up as one that was easy to deal with etc.  Prior to joining I spent 30 minutes on the phone with them explaining what I was looking to do etc.  They even valued my car over the phone using the VIN to see if I was upside down as they do not  lend more than 100% of the value they come up.  After speaking to them I made the decision to join and try to refi with them and it worked nicely.  I really can't recommend them at this time or not recommend them at this time due to me just starting off with them but all I know is they shaved 10 points off my car loan so no complaints here, LOL.

I am not one for store cards at all so I probably will not go that route...

Thank you for the feedback!