September Credit AMA [Ask Me Anything] with MOD @SunriseEarth - Get to know him.

[SunriseEarth]

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@Broke_Triathlete wrote:

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@SunriseEarth wrote:

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@Broke_Triathlete wrote:

SRE - What is a calming piece of advice for someone that is wanting instant results in the credit world?

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The one mantra I heard a lot when I first joined myFICO was "credit is not a race; it's a journey".   And I think the adage "time heals all wounds" certainly applies to credit situations, too.   Just because you can't get exactly what you want know doesn't mean that you can't get it in the future.  

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I think that's great advice, and that too is one of the things I learned pretty quickly here at myFICO. I still live by that mantra today regarding credit or anything worthwhile in life. Except for the cotton candy blizzard from DQ. Gotta get that right here, right now! Haha

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Just make sure to use a Dining card.   

[sarge12]

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@SunriseEarth wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

1. 154 pointsin 2 years is a pretty great increase!  How much time do you spend managing utilization, or other tweaks to optimize your score?  

2. At what point in your rebuild did things start to smooth over and become less reactive to new accounts, inquiries, and mild util changes?

3. I had no idea you rebuilt after a BK.  That is such great progress.  I know that you are gardening as of 8/29/16, but what is next on your horizon? Are you shooting for 800+?  Or are you waiting for anything in particular?

4. Is there anything missing from your profile now as far as cc's go,  if you could have it with no repercussions, what would it be?

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1.  UTIL is much easier to manage once your CLs grow, so I don't put much effort into overal UTIL or even by card now.  The highest UTIL on a single card now is 20% (BBR #1) and overall is ~3%.   My main issue now is making sure I have enough zero balances.

2.  TBH, your scores are still as affected at just about any level.   However, going up/down 7 pts when you're at 640 is a different experience than when you're at 770. 

3.  Thank you!  I don't have any specific credit goals at the moment, other than to keep all scores over 760.   Joining the 800 club on all three major CRs would be nice.  

4.  Chase.  I have no Chase cards (thanks, 5/24!).   Maybe a Freedom could work well in my portfolio.

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I had a post that I linked to once to try and explain what bucketing was. The link was from a credit repair site, so it was removed by a moderator, who sent me a pm explaining the no-no, which was appreciated, because I did not know this was against the rules. I tried to respond to the pm to let him know that, but the pm system did not allow me to reply to the mod...why?

[SunriseEarth]

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@joltdude wrote:

And on the subject of Store Cards.. do you feel there is a such thing as too many in a short period of time.. esp when rebuilding/new credit... Lately iv seem many newer/younger/inexperienced folks who app for a a fistful of store cards.... Understand that a few can be helpful but what do you find is a good working number to start with?   

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I'm not sure that I could advise on a specific number, as it depends on your profile.   If you have a new or thin profile, I would keep SCT cards to a minimum..a couple at the absolute most.   And don't go for cards with overlapping rewards programs (all Full Beauty store cards, all Orchard Brands stores, etc.).   

[SunriseEarth]

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@CreditCuriousity wrote:

Thanks SRE for sharing your experiences.  You are another example that educating yourself on credit/finances helps heal along with time of course.  Another great example of a good rebuild!  Very well done.

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Thank you very much!

[baller4life]

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@SunriseEarth wrote:

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@baller4life wrote:
Good to see you Sunrise! 😃 I know you are a fan of store cards. How do you feel about SCT cards? Do you believe one should limit those when rebuilding?

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Oh, but those approvals feel so good!   And that's the problem.  They're addictive and you can wind up with useless credit and a battered AAoA.   My advice would be to make sure that the credit you get is useful to you.   I once got the VS Angel Card because I could and it was useless for me.  I only used it at BBW and didn't even get rewards.  

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Great advice! I cringe every time I see newbies loading up on SCT cards. Killing their AAOA and setting themselves up for "toy limit hell" with a ton of $250 limit cards. I apped 1 SCT during my rebuild and that was VS. Closed it after a year lol.

[SunriseEarth]

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@sarge12 wrote:

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@SunriseEarth wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

1. 154 pointsin 2 years is a pretty great increase!  How much time do you spend managing utilization, or other tweaks to optimize your score?  

2. At what point in your rebuild did things start to smooth over and become less reactive to new accounts, inquiries, and mild util changes?

3. I had no idea you rebuilt after a BK.  That is such great progress.  I know that you are gardening as of 8/29/16, but what is next on your horizon? Are you shooting for 800+?  Or are you waiting for anything in particular?

4. Is there anything missing from your profile now as far as cc's go,  if you could have it with no repercussions, what would it be?

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1.  UTIL is much easier to manage once your CLs grow, so I don't put much effort into overal UTIL or even by card now.  The highest UTIL on a single card now is 20% (BBR #1) and overall is ~3%.   My main issue now is making sure I have enough zero balances.

2.  TBH, your scores are still as affected at just about any level.   However, going up/down 7 pts when you're at 640 is a different experience than when you're at 770. 

3.  Thank you!  I don't have any specific credit goals at the moment, other than to keep all scores over 760.   Joining the 800 club on all three major CRs would be nice.  

4.  Chase.  I have no Chase cards (thanks, 5/24!).   Maybe a Freedom could work well in my portfolio.

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I had a post that I linked to once to try and explain what bucketing was. The link was from a credit repair site, so it was removed by a moderator, who sent me a pm explaining the no-no, which was appreciated, because I did not know this was against the rules. I tried to respond to the pm to let him know that, but the pm system did not allow me to reply to the mod...why?

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All of the Mods are available through PM for member questions or concerns.   You might want to post about this issue in the Technical issue Forum, so Admin can look into this.  

[SunriseEarth]

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@baller4life wrote:

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@SunriseEarth wrote:

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@baller4life wrote:
Good to see you Sunrise! 😃 I know you are a fan of store cards. How do you feel about SCT cards? Do you believe one should limit those when rebuilding?

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Oh, but those approvals feel so good!   And that's the problem.  They're addictive and you can wind up with useless credit and a battered AAoA.   My advice would be to make sure that the credit you get is useful to you.   I once got the VS Angel Card because I could and it was useless for me.  I only used it at BBW and didn't even get rewards.  

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Great advice! I cringe every time I see newbies loading up on SCT cards. Killing their AAOA and setting themselves up for "toy limit hell" with a ton of $250 limit cards. I apped 1 SCT during my rebuild and that was VS. Closed it after a year lol.

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LOL...it was pink and sparkly, at least.   But yes, I mainly have issues with useless or redundant cards.  If you have Blair, you don't need Haband and Linen Source, etc. 

[sarge12]

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@SunriseEarth wrote:

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@sarge12 wrote:

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@SunriseEarth wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

1. 154 pointsin 2 years is a pretty great increase!  How much time do you spend managing utilization, or other tweaks to optimize your score?  

2. At what point in your rebuild did things start to smooth over and become less reactive to new accounts, inquiries, and mild util changes?

3. I had no idea you rebuilt after a BK.  That is such great progress.  I know that you are gardening as of 8/29/16, but what is next on your horizon? Are you shooting for 800+?  Or are you waiting for anything in particular?

4. Is there anything missing from your profile now as far as cc's go,  if you could have it with no repercussions, what would it be?

---

1.  UTIL is much easier to manage once your CLs grow, so I don't put much effort into overal UTIL or even by card now.  The highest UTIL on a single card now is 20% (BBR #1) and overall is ~3%.   My main issue now is making sure I have enough zero balances.

2.  TBH, your scores are still as affected at just about any level.   However, going up/down 7 pts when you're at 640 is a different experience than when you're at 770. 

3.  Thank you!  I don't have any specific credit goals at the moment, other than to keep all scores over 760.   Joining the 800 club on all three major CRs would be nice.  

4.  Chase.  I have no Chase cards (thanks, 5/24!).   Maybe a Freedom could work well in my portfolio.

---

I had a post that I linked to once to try and explain what bucketing was. The link was from a credit repair site, so it was removed by a moderator, who sent me a pm explaining the no-no, which was appreciated, because I did not know this was against the rules. I tried to respond to the pm to let him know that, but the pm system did not allow me to reply to the mod...why?

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All of the Mods are available through PM for member questions or concerns.   You might want to post about this issue in the Technical issue Forum, so Admin can look into this.  

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Maybe it was a system glitch then, but when I tried to reply to his PM, it said member not found. His PM was very polite, and just pointed out why removed..It was kenny, and I just wanted to let him know I would never purposely post something I thought was against the rules.

[Anonymous]

Have you ever had a CLD with a credit prior to BK?

[baller4life]

SRE, I have noticed alot less need for mod intervention in threads these days. Do you agree that members have been less argumentative and confrontational now opposed to 6 months to a yr ago?