Hey guys, let me start off by saying I've definitely made the search feature work extra hard for me in my quest for answers, and everyones' situation is different so, I figured I'd post here and look for some friendly advice.
I'm an avid browser of credit forums but have never posted; I apologize if these questions are answered somewhere blatently obvious.
Here's the dillema:
I'm 22 years old. My credit history is limited. I have 2 credit cards currently, a $1500 20%apr Discover More (Currently a 1,300 balance, I bought a laptop when I opened the card, bad decision I know, I was uneducated then), and a $500 22%apr Capital One Mastercard (I keep the balance at ~50 bucks and pay in full). I've had 3 total - my oldest being a CareCredit card (yeah, I don't know why I applied for that either), but that was my first and it was approved for $800. I JUST recieved a letter today in the mail, stating I never used the card in 12 months and they closed the account. So there goes that. Other than that, I don't really have anything on my credit. A small $1000 student loan that was paid off with no late payments, and that's it. I currently have 4 hard inquiries on my report.
I've recently educated myself on credit. Scouring the internet for all the tips and tricks. I know it's important, and I've recently been bit by the "Do everything I possibly can to build my credit score within my means" bug. I'm VERY responsible with my money. I've been on my own for my whole adult life and I never wanted to make the same financial mistakes my parents did. I've made every payment early and usually pay ~10 bucks over the minimum (I do what I can afford, which isn't too much).
I'm approaching my deadline for my 0% apr for 15 months on my discover card, and I dread the interest hitting my account in about a month or less.
I want to build my credit, I hate the idea of secured cards even though I know they are great building blocks, and I really would like to find an appropriate balance transfer so that I may possibly dodge the interest, or at least have a lower rate. My salary is laughable at best...I pull about $1,500 a month working at a Deli, so I know when creditors see that, they don't neccessarily want to make it rain on me with a good CLI, or any card for that matter. But it's what I have to work with, and I spend within my means.
My direct questions:
Best way to build from this point?
&
Best way to handle my upcoming interest charges?
Thank you for any/all advice, and taking the time to read this. I know it was wall of text but I wanted to be as detailed as possible.
Regards,
Devon.
