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This is how obssessed I have become!

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ferrari
Regular Contributor

This is how obssessed I have become!

I fell asleep while browsing this board, and I had this dream! I Walk into a small CU and apply for their credit card. Although I was approved, I felt bad because I didn't need the card and I wasted an inquiry and reduced my AAOA for nothing!

 

It's similar to the guilty feeling you have when you quit smoking and you have a cig in your dream.

 

Credit gardening is hard, I am itching to apply for something, anything, so go figure

 

Message 1 of 8
7 REPLIES 7
jnydc
Contributor

Re: This is how obssessed I have become!

I hear you.  I seem to be obsessively on this site, waiting for something new to post...and dream about shiny new cc.  Its bad.  And I always want to apply... but we're going to hold off a few months on that!

2009 Credit Portfolio: First Premier 450, Orchard Bank 400

2012 Credit Portfolio: AMEX; Gold, Zync, & Clear 5k
Citi Platinum Select 2k, Home Depot Store (Citi) 4k, Discover More 10k, Barclays Apple 2k, Cap 1 (secured) 2.5k
Message 2 of 8
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: This is how obssessed I have become!

I am there with ya! Although I am done with the apps for a year and then I'll see what happens!

Message 3 of 8
unlucky_hove
Regular Contributor

Re: This is how obssessed I have become!

Thats funny....I find myself itching to apply for anything (that i think I could get) whether i need it or not. l bet the vast majority of the people here have that same feeling. It may be the reason most of us are here, because we were unable to exhibit self control and applied for everything just to satisfy that feeling of obtaining new credit (it is a great feeling to not be denied!). Then BAM charge offs, BKs, late pays because we got in over our heads.  I have to constantly keep myself in check, and remind myself why i dont need that shiny new credit card. When i was in college all i wanted was a credit card, no job, but i wanted a credit card.......why?  young and ignorant i guess. Maybe its a learned behavior, but from where: TV, parents, friends.....who knows. I realize that some people got into bad situations and had to start over (ie divorce, job loss, etc.) but i would love to see what percentage of the users here got into trouble because of the "new credit" feeling. 

Message 4 of 8
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: This is how obsessed I have become!


@unlucky_hove wrote:

Thats funny....I find myself itching to apply for anything (that I think I could get) whether I need it or not. L bet the vast majority of the people here have that same feeling. It may be the reason most of us are here, because we were unable to exhibit self control and applied for everything just to satisfy that feeling of new obtaining new credit (it is a great feeling to not be denied!). Then BAM charge offs, BKs, late pays because we got in over our heads.  I have to constantly keep myself in check, and remind myself why I don't need that shiny new credit card. When I was in college all I wanted was a credit card, no job, but I wanted a credit card.......why?  young and ignorant I guess. Maybe its a learned behavior, but from where: TV, parents, friends.....who knows. I realize that some people got into bad situations and had to start over (ie divorce, job loss, etc.) but I would love to see what percentage of the users here got into trouble because of the "new credit" feeling. 


Funny you should mention it, but I am a rebuilder myself. I not only learned terrible habits from my Mom while growing up, but I definitely got into trouble with the "new credit" feeling several times now.   I got my first 3 cards in October after I turned 18 and decided to Christmas shop like never before. I maxed them all out and opened 4 store cards and maxed those too. I had no understanding that once they were maxed, I had to pay them and the minimums not only would never get me out of debt, but also would not allow me to continue to use them.  After many years and charge offs and all kinds of things, I finally paid them off with student loans.  :-/  Then a couple of years later, I got another Nordstrom card approved (because I worked there and they would just take payments out of my checks,) and eventually built up pretty good credit because I started getting Capital One offers in the mail.  I accepted several of those and quite a few others and maxed them out again. Then when I lost my job at Nordstrom, I was again, unable to pay my bills.  Again, several 30 day lates and I was not able to make any satisfactory arrangements with Nordstrom so they charged off again along with an outrageous cell phone bill.  This time, I managed to salvage the other cards but again, I had to pay them off  with more student loans.  Then... yet again, I maxed out the cards and this time was bailed out by my dear aunt.  Paid them off and swore I would never use them again.  Several years later, I started using them a little at a time and again maxed them out.  The upside to all of this was that during this time, I was always making on-time payments but had very "average" credit scores because I was at about 95% utilization and had two major baddies which fortunately kept me from being able to increase my limits by enough to do any major damage. . 

 

About a year and a half ago, my father passed away and left a small inheritance which I saved most of but used a small amount to pay off my credit cards once again!!!  This time, I swore that I would do things differently and make decisions that would make my Dad proud. So I managed to keep from using my cards for over a year, and during that time, my two baddies fell off and my scores skyrocketed from 650 - 795 & 805!!  During that time, I had applied for a Care card and was really surprised that I had been approved and for a limit of $3700. I had no idea what my scores were and was just hoping to get enough  to buy some new glasses.  Then when I hit 750 or so, I decided to apply for the Best Buy card so I could buy a new lap top and pay it off  over 18 mos with 0% interest and again was approved.  At that point, I figured it was probably  time to apply for a credit union card and an Amex.  Of course, because of my 15 years of poor credit, I was shocked when I was approved for $5,000 and $10,000 respectively. That's when the addiction and the "new credit" feeling started to kick in. I was on a roll, I had received pre-approvals from US Bank, BofA, and Discover and I wanted a Chase card so the apping continued. I applied for the Chase Slate card (0% for 12 mos) and approved at $6,000.  I closed some old Capital One accts with fees and got CLI's on one Cap One, Household, Goodyear, Express, and I think a couple more.  I decided to get some dental work done (My dentist doesn't accept Care,) and charge it on my Slate.  Next thing I knew, I was buying purses, shoes, and clothes.....  Smiley Sad  and had run the Chase card up to $3,000.  I still can't believe what  I have done.  I am at 50% utilization on this card and while I haven't done much of anything on the others, I have more debt now on this one card than I had on all of them combined just a year ago!!  I know this amount is very manageable and I can easily pay it off before the 0% offer expires, but I'm really disappointed in myself because  again, fell into the same bad habits.   In any case, thanks to all of you, I am aware  of what I've done, I've set myself up where even with all of the apps, the new credit, and the 50% balance, I have hardly taken a hit on my scores and I have put the brakes on and started paying things back down. 

 

My point is...... that "new credit" feeling is POWERFUL!!!!!!!!  Smiley Mad

Message 5 of 8
creditchild
Regular Contributor

Re: This is how obsessed I have become!

hey qtip your story is really inspiring. i had to read your story twice. i'm a rebuilder also. i just got approved for

walmart(400 cl) and kay jewelers 2100) i also have a cap one card 500cl) and a orchard cc with a 300cl) and i agree

with all of you, the apping is addictive. i'm trying to find a card with a decent cl. i can't get cap one or orchard to increase

my limits. can you give me some insight on which card to apply for that i can get a decent cl from? my fico scores are

TU) 652 and EQ) 642 i don't want to go crazy apping because just from apping for those 2 cards my score dropped 7 points.

so i'm just want to get pointed in right direction so i would make the same mistakes.

Message 6 of 8
JM-AM
Valued Contributor

Re: This is how obsessed I have become!

 


@creditchild wrote:

hey qtip your story is really inspiring. i had to read your story twice. i'm a rebuilder also. i just got approved for

walmart(400 cl) and kay jewelers 2100) i also have a cap one card 500cl) and a orchard cc with a 300cl) and i agree

with all of you, the apping is addictive. i'm trying to find a card with a decent cl. i can't get cap one or orchard to increase

my limits. can you give me some insight on which card to apply for that i can get a decent cl from? my fico scores are

TU) 652 and EQ) 642 i don't want to go crazy apping because just from apping for those 2 cards my score dropped 7 points.

so i'm just want to get pointed in right direction so i would make the same mistakes.


 

Let your cards you have now age a little. By applying you may get approved but the limits will stay low. Rebuilding is not an over night success. After the cards age at least 1 year you will have much better options. 

 

Good Luck

Good Luck
May all your dreams and wishes become a reality!
Message 7 of 8
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: This is how obsessed I have become!


@creditchild wrote:

hey qtip your story is really inspiring. i had to read your story twice. i'm a rebuilder also. i just got approved for

walmart(400 cl) and kay jewelers 2100) i also have a cap one card 500cl) and a orchard cc with a 300cl) and i agree

with all of you, the apping is addictive. i'm trying to find a card with a decent cl. i can't get cap one or orchard to increase

my limits. can you give me some insight on which card to apply for that i can get a decent cl from? my fico scores are

TU) 652 and EQ) 642 i don't want to go crazy apping because just from apping for those 2 cards my score dropped 7 points.

so i'm just want to get pointed in right direction so i would make the same mistakes.


Well, for  me, my best card for growth was Merrick Bank, (although I thought I read somewhere that it has to be offered to you,) also, I had 4 Capital One cards and only one of them was ever eligible for a CLI and it was a conversion from a TJ Maxx Capital One card.   I really don't know that any of them were great for growing but once my scores recovered, I applied for Care Credit which was really generous and I think in the end, it set the stage for other good credit lines.  But HTSU always stresses that you can get an 800 score with low limit cards so don't feel like you will never get there.  Trust me, if it can happen for me, it can happen for anyone!!  Smiley Wink.

 

In your case, I would stick with what you have an work with it for the next 12 mos.  Carry a really small (<9%) on one and no balances on the others.  From time to time, i would be sure to charge a little something and then pay it off right away on the others to be sure the keep the accounts open.  In about 6 mos, you can request cli and see what they say.  If you do that  (and don't have any major baddies,) I would think you would be in a really good position to app for something better in a year.  Do you have any baddies right now? If so, what are they?

Message 8 of 8
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