Garden Club Meeting - August 2012

[CS800]

All 3 report frozen, no more app for me.

I ended my spree with an Old Navy/Nordstrom and Tar-jay.

I'm not much or a gardener so I will sip on some coffee with baileys irish cream and watch you guys. Anyone doing a cookout this week in the gah-den?

[Datx]

I have been in the garden club in the past, but kept getting out of it. Its a new month, and starting today I will no longer apply for new credit or even ask for a CLI. I'm going to do my best to stay app free for a long time. I also closed some cards recently after realizing I dont need them. I have enough CC accounts, and just need to maintain them. I'll update my sig here soon. Good luck to all the gardeners!

[Anonymous]

I'm a late official joiner however I've not apped since March 2012. I went on a spree of 5 cards in 5 months which dropped my score about 40 points. I had plenty of reward cards but decided it was time to balance the portfolio with several low interest cards. Also, two big banks dropped money in my mail box if I accepted their cards. Free cash was to much to decline.

[Autumnslight]

Hi! I'm new to the garden, and the forums. I went on quite an app spree in July, purchasing two new vehicles and opening 4 new credit cards, with two more credit card applications still pending further review. I decided that after July, I wouldn't apply for anything alse until at least January, and I made my last app yesterday at about 10pm, LOL.

I've taken a lot of steps in the last month to improve my credit scores, and my financial situation, by dramatically lowering interest rates on my car loans, increasing my available credit with new accounts, using 0% interest balance transfers, paying down balances, and sending goodwill letters to try to get some negative info removed. My scores have taken a hit from the inquiries, and I'm not sure how much more they might dive when everything new reports. But, now I'm ready to sit back and hopefully reap the rewards of what I've planted!

My immediate goal is 700+ scores across the board. My future "non-garden" goals are to eventually be able to get approved for the Amex BCE card, and to get a new mortgage hopefully next year.

Nice to meet you all!

[DrivenDoctoress]

Hi there all! I have been reading the gardening threads and I get really excited over all of your successes!

I am new to all of this and am starting on repair like a maniac. I have struggled with whether or not to app for a better card (low to mid level) just because all three of my low limit cards are sub prime. But I am thinking that what I actually need is to worrk on getting my util. % low, getting some baddies off, and put a good chunk of time into good payment history and account maturing. I am making the goal to not app for anything until Feb 2013 at the earliest. By then my credit score should be significantly better and I can work at getting out of subprime hell.

So at least six months of gardening for me! I look forward to actively keeping up with you guys now that I've joined the garden. :-) Happy Gardening!

[jla84]

Cap One is reporting as closed, and Discover is now (finally) reporting my CLI! I'm at 4 months in the garden now!

Current Garden:

WFNNB Lane Bryant $100 

AmEx Zync NPSL

Discover Miles $6000

PenFed Travel Rewards with AmEx $5000

WFNNB Avenue $890

Citi Forward $6500

Waiting for October to app for BCE. I'm in the process of experimenting with the WFNNB LB card trying to get a CLI. Since my Avenue card auto-CLI after the 4th or 5th statement, I'm seeing what happens after my 4th statement for my LB card. We'll see. If there's no auto after the 5th statement, I'm calling in and threatning to close. $100 CL is ridiculous! 

[Middleswarth]

New gardener here.  I had been unknowingly gardening for about 9 months after I got my CapOne cards (I didn't know not apping was called gardening  ).  In July I went on an appapaluza and got my available credit up over 20K.  I'm now going to weed out the CapOne cards by the end of the month and will be gardening for the next 2+ years.

Countdown to my mortgage app:  24 months

[emptypockets]

I'm the garden for August! Got my Bronze spade 7/25/12. Plan is to remain in the garden until at least October, 2012 maybe longer if I get the CLI's I want with no HP's at that time. By late October, will be time for CLI for AMEX, Citi and another round of CLI's for GE cards. Current scores are in my signature.

I have no real need for new cards, but in the future (January-February) I am contemplating closing AMEX PRG and opening a Starwood  (if the rumors of a new and improved bonus offer are true), and may also app for Chase SW reward card at some point (to get the 50k points for a upcoming trip). Hopefully the bonuses will still be around by then.

Happy Gardening to everyone!!

[RockinRay]

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@CS800 wrote:

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@RockinRay wrote:

In here - need nothing. May weed a bit more...

Grats Tinu! Long time comng!

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Easy on the weed Ray, it might make you go on an app spree LOL !!  

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LOL - I will take another look at things this month. Really, I would like to get to 5 cards...

I am in hopes to go over 800 this month. I think I will be close... If so, and the fact that I / we have no debt, I can kill the $5k cards.

Can you imagine, killing the new Discover IT before it even arrives! 

[tcbofade]

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@RockinRay wrote:

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@CS800 wrote:

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@RockinRay wrote:

In here - need nothing. May weed a bit more...

Grats Tinu! Long time comng!

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Easy on the weed Ray, it might make you go on an app spree LOL !!  

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LOL - I will take another look at things this month. Really, I would like to get to 5 cards...

I am in hopes to go over 800 this month. I think I will be close... If so, and the fact that I / we have no debt, I can kill the $5k cards.

Can you imagine, killing the new Discover IT before it even arrives! 

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I KNOW that you're referring to a credit score, but the first time I read that, I saw something different....