Possibly Ruining all of my hard work!

[ArchEagleJ]

I have been working really hard to improve my credit over the last couple of years.  When I first checked my credit when I had just turned 19 my scores were in the mid 500s (Mostly from a bunch of stuff my mother got in my name and then didnt pay)  I started by getting an Orchard Bank Card (300 limit), as well as 2 First Premier Cards( 300 and 250 limits), and 1 Capital One Card (300 limit).  I stuck with only those cars for about a year, but just a couple of months ago after getting hit with all of my annual fees from those cards I decided to apply for a different account.  

First I was able to get a car financed last October.  I then started an App spree in May and got a Citi Card ($4,000 limit), a WalMart card ($1200 limit), a Chase Card ($500 limit), PayPal Buyer Credit ($950 limit).     After a couple of months my scores rebounded a little and were now between 620 and 650.  Today after reading on these forums I applied for a Care Credit account (I'm in serious need of some dental work) and was approved for the $3,000 that I requested, then I also applied for a Kay's Jeweler's Card and was approved for $1,800. 

I cancelled all of the first cards that I had except for the Orchard just because it is the one I've had the longest.    I know all of the new accounts are probably killing all the work I've done, I am trying really hard now to stop applying for new credit.  Does anyone have any other recommendations as to how to continue to improve my credit?  I know I need to let all of my accounts age and to give the Inquiries time to fall off, and I am definitely working on that, but anything other than that?

[creditwherecreditisdue]

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@ArchEagleJ wrote:

I have been working really hard to improve my credit over the last couple of years.  When I first checked my credit when I had just turned 19 my scores were in the mid 500s (Mostly from a bunch of stuff my mother got in my name and then didnt pay)  I started by getting an Orchard Bank Card (300 limit), as well as 2 First Premier Cards( 300 and 250 limits), and 1 Capital One Card (300 limit).  I stuck with only those cars for about a year, but just a couple of months ago after getting hit with all of my annual fees from those cards I decided to apply for a different account.  

First I was able to get a car financed last October.  I then started an App spree in May and got a Citi Card ($4,000 limit), a WalMart card ($1200 limit), a Chase Card ($500 limit), PayPal Buyer Credit ($950 limit).     After a couple of months my scores rebounded a little and were now between 620 and 650.  Today after reading on these forums I applied for a Care Credit account (I'm in serious need of some dental work) and was approved for the $3,000 that I requested, then I also applied for a Kay's Jeweler's Card and was approved for $1,800. 

I cancelled all of the first cards that I had except for the Orchard just because it is the one I've had the longest.    I know all of the new accounts are probably killing all the work I've done, I am trying really hard now to stop applying for new credit.  Does anyone have any other recommendations as to how to continue to improve my credit?  I know I need to let all of my accounts age and to give the Inquiries time to fall off, and I am definitely working on that, but anything other than that?

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A this point you really need to do the above. Patience is a huge part of credit building.

[haulingthescoreup]

Welcome to the forums!

If you haven't already, please read Understanding Your FICO ® Score and Credit Scoring 101 (at least the first post.)

These will give you the background knowledge you need to understand what you read here on the forums.

After that, just keep reading here and reflecting on what you read. People here are in all different stages of their credit growth and understanding, and you'll see some pretty shaky ideas and advice posted. Above all, resist the temptation to jump on the hot-CC-of-the-week bandwagon! That one has derailed lots of folks' progress.

Time eventually heals credit problems, but in the meantime, learn all you can about how credit works so that you can be prepared to handle it as it improves.

[smallfry]

Congrats on the improvement. BTW you are well past needing that Kay Jewelers tradeline. Stop applying. Good luck and always make sure you pay on time.

[FocusOnFICO]

Credit and Hauling's advice is right on.

Patience is such a huge key.  I have been learning from the forum for several months now.  I took the good advice (mostly HTSU's) and made the smart additions to my credit portfolio.  Now the waiting begins.......many call it credit gardening---taking a breath and letting your good work add points to your score each month, over the next several years.

It's hard, but after making the necessary (and smart) additions and deletions, patience will reign successful for you.

[creditwherecreditisdue]

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@FocusOnFICO wrote:

Credit and Hauling's advice is right on.

Patience is such a huge key.  I have been learning from the forum for several months now.  I took the good advice (mostly HTSU's) and made the smart additions to my credit portfolio.  Now the waiting begins.......many call it credit gardening---taking a breath and letting your good work add points to your score each month, over the next several years.

It's hard, but after making the necessary (and smart) additions and deletions, patience will reign successful for you.

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Good. Well said. +1

[ArchEagleJ]

Thanks for all the advice!  If I can just lay off the applications, I think I'll do good.  But I fully admit to being an App Addict!  I had gotten so used to being denied all the time before, that now that I was actually able to get some credit, I just get the urge to keep applying!  But I am going to try really hard to not apply for anything else for at least another year.  I know my AAoA is pretty horrible right now, so that definitely needs to be improved, so my goal is no Apps for a year!