How are you guys doing it!?

[Gollum]

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@Anonymous wrote:

There are certainly a lot of factors.  I'm jealous of the incomes on here.  I have a stated income of $36,000.  My fico score is range from 680-690.  I have about a 22K total combined limit across all of my cards, most of which are bank cards.  I agree patience is a key and I'd focus in on bank cards.  I would definitly pace yourself.  I went on an app binge and while so far it is ok and eventually will get great,  I do worry some about getting accounts closed because I went too fast.  Good luck

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I'm sure we all would prefer to have more income.  Keep paying your bills on time.  My annual income is only $42,700, but after paying my bills on time for years, my current FICO score is 830.

[Anonymous]

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@Aahz wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Aahz wrote:

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@SkyCommander wrote:

Income still plays a role doesn't it? What if you had someone who made 15k a year but had scores of 800 vs someone who makes 45k with 700. The 15k guy going to get a 20k SL? The 15k guy probably won't even get approved for some CC with the income being too low.

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Sure income plays a role, but not nearly as large a role as scores do.

Some of my history-

April 2014

- 3 cards totaling $1,800 in credit

- sub-650 scores

- denied for Discover with low 6-figure income

Nov 2014

- Reports get clean

- scores jump to around 760 

@- approved for Citi DC @ $8k - Sallie Mae @ $12,500 - Chase IHG @ $21,500(!) w/ same income as April

My 20 year old daughter only has $26k in income but was just approved for her first solo credit card:  $10k Chase Sapphire Reserve with their lowest available APR.  Why?  Because she has a 765 FICO as a result of an 18 month old Joint (not AU) BofA card which got a $15,000 line based on my credit.. 

Time and patience are very important skills indeed.  A high income never hurts.  But it's really all about clean reports and high FICOs.

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6 figure income..

Maybe when I finish my master's degree.. lol. 

I"m sitting around $46,000 right now. I'm 26 so I feel like I've fallen behind the "curve" of where people my age should be. I feel like such a failure sometimes. 
But thank you everyone. Looks like it just boils down to being patient and letting things "simmer" for a bit  

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I REALLY hope that's not all you took out of my post.  The point was that six figure income was only getting me sub-$1,000 credit lines while my scores were low, while my daughter got a $10k line with half your income.  It's not about the money coming in, it's about how well you've managed your credit.

As for feeling like a failure, I'm more than 20 years older than you and have been self-employed for over a decade.  That means 14-18 hour days, 7 days a week 365 days a year.

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Income will play a role, but in my mind I feel credit worthiness (lates, derogs, etc) plays an even bigger role. I am 30 and make in the $50,000's and am also going for my Masters. My highest limit on a card is $7000. My fiance who is 31 and gets paid $40,000 has a limit of $16k on his Discover but his credit is freaking perfect. I have been rebuilding my credit for about 2 years. It's a slow process, but as long as you are able to make payments etc, your credit will grow with you. 

[tacpoly]

My situation is different from most who posted:  I had high limits from the beginning (35+, 50+K, and NPSL) because my parents made me an AU on their amex when I started uni so I benefited from their credit history.  I didn't know anything about FICO scores - having no clue about AAoA, I would close older cards when I got new ones.  I didn't keep more than 5 CCs, but luckily I rarely applied for cards (on average every 4-5 years).  My oldest line is nearly 25 years old and still actively used (wish I kept my first cc).  I don't bother asking for CLIs. DH is in a similar situation. 

Scores are very high, same with income.  We don't put nearly as much through our cc's as some people here; we do put everything through our cc.  We splurge from time to time, but we live pretty modestly.  We view credit as a convenience.  We make it work for us, we don't work for it.  So outside of paying all statements on time, we take a mostly passive role with credit cards.