I made it through December and January app free! Last app was Nov. 23 (Yay me..lol) . My TU on here is at 731 as of today. That score is with 11 new accounts (student loans and credit cards) opened in the last year and 8 inquiries (7 of them for CC's). I am hoping I can garden and get my scores near 760. Hopefully there are points to be gained by just sitting tight. I do not have any bad stuff on any of my reports.
DaveSignal wrote:Checking in for February! I'm past my 6 month mark and have found a very nice new spade in my garden!
Congrats! im jealous!
will you be going for a platinum?
my goal is for at least the gold (in june) but I probably will see platinum as I don't have a need for any cards, and im missing the window of apping for another amex, for a January backdate.
Which come to think of it, its kind of a dumb thing. If you app in July you still get the backdate its just lost time during the year, so I don't know why people make such a big fuss of apping in January.
The month has flown by; been very busy with work.
Starting Score: 08/29/2011 TU 671 EQ 674Current Score (myFico + Amex): April 2013 TU 754 EQ 694 EX 694
Wallet: NFCU Visa Sig 25k, Amex Lowes 22k, NavCheck 15k, Amex PRG, Amex Zync, Discover It 13.5k, Amazon Visa 5k
Silver Spade Garden Club Member: App Free since 1/1/13. No more apps til 2014
MyFICO Fitness Goal: 800s Club!
Take the myFICO Fitness Challenge
creditnocash wrote:
DaveSignal wrote:Checking in for February! I'm past my 6 month mark and have found a very nice new spade in my garden!
Congrats! im jealous!
will you be going for a platinum?
I have enough credit, and I have a couple of perfect cards with 0% ForEx fee for my current location as I am an American living in Great Britain. I like my car and have a nice apartment where my wife and I are quite happy. With things the way they are, I have no need to apply for any new credit or limit increases unless the engine falls out of my car or I suddenly lose my job (both very unlikely). Unless something catastophic happens, I am going for Diamond! Maybe I'll buy a house in 2015.
I am going to commit to staying in this garden until June, maybe longer. I wouldn't mind ending up with a Platinum Spade but I don't know if I can control the itch for Amex that long, even though it would certainly help to get approved for it at a decent credit limit.
I know that I can do this until June and here is why..... I don't need anymore credit. I don't need anymore credit cards. I want to weed out some of the ones that I have. (Well actually just Merrick, I love them but come on so long you guys have had my money and you are the only card with an AF! Rethink it guys, 5 1/2 years I have been with you!) I won't go on a spending spree until the end of June when I go on vacation!
If in June I get some nice offers for Prime cards with some nice bonus rewards for using the card, then I will step out and claim those cards and rewards on my vacation. Ideally it would at the least be the United Miles card that might also cause me to step out at this time, so I can claim the bonus miles and get a free round trip ticket anywhere. (I already have enough miles for a nice round trip ticket in the US or from China to Thailand. Two tickets to Thailand would be nice, then I could take my partner for free too!) So at least if I wait until then to get some bonus rewards I could offset the spending that I will do then. If not I won't even consider it until November to take advantage of Christmas shopping and using the bonuses then! Heck, I could do this every year around Christmas as a set plan! It would certainly be the best way to make sure that I make the most of Christmas!
I have a really beautiful park near my apartment we can hold meeting in. I can act as a translator if you want to meet the locals. (Yeah, I live in Beijing. I work here and it is certainly helping me rebuild my credit and keep my util low! It is the best thing I could have ever done!) I got my Merrick card two months before I came here and it was the only card I had at the time. I let it be and didn't use it much. It was the best thing for my credit that I could have done and I am very happy I did it. If you're willing to travel come on over to my place an I will show you the city, but you gotta come before September. After that I am outta here! You might then have to come to meetings in Shanghai, Manilla, or Guangzhou. (Am I cheating the system, well yeah in a way I guess I am, but not in a nefarious way!)
Good Luck to everyone on their gardening and remember, subscribe to this list so that it can be a reminder to what your goals are. Don't get too hasty as good things come to those who wait. For those who are on a borderline of a score category, remember that those few points might make a big difference. My current FICO is 708/709. This becomes another reason for me to make a date and stick with it. Yeah, I am not that far away from a 720 at this point, but certainly a 740 or a 750 would make it much better. I am certain that if I wait then I will be much happier. Letting the Discover and Chase grow will do wonders for me! I have a fairly long term plan which means that the longer I wait, the better it will be. (I wasn't even tempted by the Citi Diamond offer I just got! I did check out the card, but wasn't tempted by it since I want to make sure when I app next it will bring out the best results, not just low limits and high interest rates for the more Prime cards!)
I will be screaming with tears of joy in my eyes when I break the 720 mark. I still won't have temptation! I will have my goals. Prime cards, high score, low interest, great rewards. I can certainly wait for it! Resist the temptation! And again, Good Luck!
creditnocash wrote:
chnceit wrote:No apps for me in February! Garden I shall stay (hopefully
)
i think everyone in the garden is saying no apps in feb! lol
lets all do it together.
I can do that no problem! In February I am also making a Chinese New Year's resolution to lose weight and a bet with my sister to insure I fixate on it. We are putting up $5 each time we work out and whoever has the most money in the account at the end claims the others. I am actually going to even set up a savings account to transfer the money into! It will be a fine year for me! I will finish an MBA and start another Degree in Accounting afterward, lose weight, garden my credit cards, and get a new job or a promotion! This is the Chinese Year of the Snake! (I wonder if there is any symbolizm there? Ha, ha!)
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