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BEGINNER!!! Please help!!!

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Anonymous
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BEGINNER!!! Please help!!!

Hello all, I am 22 years old, and in the past 3 years I have had SS fraud. I could not prove this since it was a family member--yuk I know--but I got everything paid off.
Right now my score is 604. I have two credit cards with only $500 limits, since I got these when I was in highschool. One card has a balance of $120 and the other of $300. I know I need to pay these down to about 10% of the limit if not lower because of the card limit being so low. The only other debt I really have besides the normal utility bills, and two car payments, is my Dell computer account. The limit is $2000, and I just recently bought a laptop and accessories for school, so it is close to the limit at $1700. So I have a total of only $2,120 in account debts. My cars are two years old, but have never been late. Since I paid the last of the Fraud stuff off, my score went from 500 to 604 in one quarter.
What is the smart thing to do to increase my score a decent amount again in the next 6 months?
I know I shouldn't pay everything off because they can not judge you if you have nothing to judge. Get everything to 10% and just keep it that way? I know I am young, but I am also a police officer looking to buy a house in my town, in the next year and a half. But I don't even want to try unless I have at least a 700 credit score.
Any ideas???
Message 1 of 17
16 REPLIES 16
MidnightVoice
Super Contributor

Re: BEGINNER!!! Please help!!!

This might be a stupid question, but do you need two cars?
 
And yes - get the utilization down very low and use them every now and again.  Time is a great healer  Smiley Happy
The slide from grace is really more like gliding
And I've found the trick is not to stop the sliding
But to find a graceful way of staying slid
Message 2 of 17
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: BEGINNER!!! Please help!!!

I suggest you see if you can open a CCCU or Hooters or Amex account. That will give you another positive TL. Then you can BT some of that Dell account which is like 29% interest to something much lower. Then just pay the cards down and you should be in the mid 600s in no time.
Message 3 of 17
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: BEGINNER!!! Please help!!!

Well the 2nd car is an issue all in itself. I co-signed with a family member, they were threatened to not pay it, so I took it back, and have been paying on it since. My room mate has just taken over payments, still in my name, but she has paid on time, over the amount so no issues there. But yeah I'm never doing that again, not even for family at this point.
Message 4 of 17
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: BEGINNER!!! Please help!!!

Rember that Dell account is a credit card and your high UTL is hurting your score the most. Same as mine. Try to pay down that account and keep your utl low. Make all your payments on time and check your credit reports for any negetive information. Dispute incorrect info and request GW removals for other negative info. Good Luck and your on the right track starting early. Looks like everything to do with credit happens in 30 day incraments making things take awhile.Smiley Happy
Message 5 of 17
MidnightVoice
Super Contributor

Re: BEGINNER!!! Please help!!!



Rockjock wrote:
 
 Looks like everything to do with credit happens in 30 day incraments making things take awhile.Smiley Happy


Focoholics Anonymous suggests "a day at a time"   Smiley Very Happy
The slide from grace is really more like gliding
And I've found the trick is not to stop the sliding
But to find a graceful way of staying slid
Message 6 of 17
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: BEGINNER!!! Please help!!!

No kidding and I have only been working around here for a week. I once prayed for patience, I just didn’t know He would teach me in this way.

Message 7 of 17
MidnightVoice
Super Contributor

Re: BEGINNER!!! Please help!!!

Good things come to those who wait  Smiley Happy


Message Edited by MidnightVoice on 08-15-2007 01:34 PM
The slide from grace is really more like gliding
And I've found the trick is not to stop the sliding
But to find a graceful way of staying slid
Message 8 of 17
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: BEGINNER!!! Please help!!!

You might be surprised on how low of a score you need to buy a house (like 620).  You sound like a good candidate for a 3% fha loan.  You only need a modest increase in score to get approved, and that should be attainable pretty quickly by reducing your utilization.
Message 9 of 17
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: BEGINNER!!! Please help!!!



Rockjock wrote:
Rember that Dell account is a credit card and your high UTL is hurting your score the most.


The Dell account is not a cc, it's a consumer loan. I don't believe that is factored into your utl.


Message Edited by Lori344 on 08-15-2007 02:50 PM
Message 10 of 17
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