My FICO Went ▲UP▲ For a Brief, Glorious Moment...It Was a Beautiful Thing.

[Jimer]

Several months ago I read a post by NWM and thought it was quite funny.  I too have been battling for an increase in my scores.  On my birthday last year, August, I decided to take action. I refer to my efforts as the “credit game” and I have dedicated a lot of work to this effort.  I have mailed approximately 40 letters and yes, I have paid some delinquent items that I believed were not mine to pay.  They way I look at it its pay now or pay later. 

I have moved my scores from 552 to 700 in 9 months. I currently have a letter into the FTC, copied the bureau, which had a huge impact.  Now here’s the catch, I have been very lucky because my job has been promoting me and providing increases along the way.  I now have the cash to pay these guys and to make changes in my lifestyle.  Regardless, progress can be made without relocating. 

[goodlilminx]

Message Edited by goodlilminx on 06-17-2007 04:18 PM

[Anonymous]

Pretty soon I'll be in a position where if the system decides to keep stealing my money, I can just put a plane ticket on a credit card and say to America, "So long, and thanks for all the fish!"

I'm hoping it doesn't come to that. I've settled up with these people for now, so there shouldn't be anything negative on my CR re child support. But I regard garnishment of my wages as theft, clear and simple. If I were in charge, I'd abolish child support completely in all cases except where a divorce occurs due to physical abuse. A woman should not be able to file for divorce without cause, take the kid, and then hit the man up for money for the rest of his life.

The only way noncustodial parents are ever going to change the system is if we boycott the system. I am a working American man with a college education--I could go to dozens of countries around the world and be welcomed. Only in America--the land of my birth--am I persecuted and surtaxed just because my wife divorced me. As I said in another post, in most African countries if the government tried doing this to men, the government officials responsible wouldn't live to see the sun go down that day.

Then again, the American government is looking for anyone it can surtax...the Iraq adventure isn't going so well, and world conquest can't be done on the cheap. I may emigrate on general principles so that I no longer have to pay for the American Empire. America as a superpower is just about finished. We're bankrupt, and cheap oil is running out. Ask anyone who is going through foreclosure. As a Web site elsewhere said, "the future is here, it's just not widely distributed yet."

[Anonymous]

My husband and I have been married for 8 years (together for 11).  

I can see both sides of the child support issue. 

He has 2 children (now both over 18 - praise the lord) and paid child support to the tune of $261.00 a WEEK for 12 years.  By the time the IRS got their cut, the guy basically had nothing left to live on.    Which forced him to tell his employer to not take out taxes (for an extended period of time) so he could get by.  Unfortunately he ended up with a huge debt to the IRS. 

He also found himself in a situation where when he'd have them every other weekend, he had no money to do anything with his kids and could barely feed them.  He and I started dating when they were very young and a lot of times he had to come to me to help out with food, etc. 

She lived off state aid and child support for years.  She would tan every day, go get her nails done.  Had a heck of a social life and went from guy to guy to guy for years.  She has a decent job in recent years, but in the early days, she basically waited tables a couple of nights a week.  The rest of her income was child support and welfare.

When she couldn't "handle" the boys, she'd pawn them off on us.  She'd insist on 2 weeks per summer, so she could have her "alone time" and they stayed with us.  In addition to every other weekend (friday to sunday). 

We got NO money in support for those 2 weeks.  They moved in with us permanently at ages 13 and 12.   The support was stopped at that point.  BUT she never paid us a freakin' dime (not a single dime) she would buy them shoes and act like she should be up for mother of the year.   (they have since returned to living w/ her, when they got older they didn't want to follow our family rules, so they split about a year ago). 

My husband has always been there for his boys (no matter what).  We paid for all sports related activities (they were both into football and basketball every year since they were 8 years old).  Because she couldn't "afford it", we did everything for them.  I was the sports mom that drove them back and forth to every single practice, every single day.  She never did any of that.  I even picked them up when they lived with her.

I resented the fact that she was able to make decisions that affected MY finances (and I have a daughter from a previous relationship too - so sometimes if affected her), simply because she was their mother (it was like she could still call the shots even though for 5+ years they lived in our home).  

I also have an "ex" who pays child support, but he didn't have any relationship with my daughter until she was 13 and racked up an arrearage of $60,000.  He has paid it down to $30,000 (with some breaks from me along the way).   Now he pays me $100 month (he is ordered to pay $200 and was supposed to be paying $400 to take off the arrearage).  Now I get $100/month and $1,500 each summer in lump sum that comes off the arrearage.

I'm one of the nice ones who is just happy with at least something (me and hubby both have decent jobs) and I know he and his wife have it no easier than we do (house payment the same, car payment the same, gas is the same, etc.).  I see no reason to get ugly with him... (especially now that he has a relationship with our daughter and takes her every other weekend). 

I can certainly understand it when men feel they are getting a raw deal - because honestly, they probably are. 

I've seen it from both sides.  I honestly think my husband got robbed (and it took a long time for him to trust me in the early days of our relationship - she really raked him over the coals).

It depends on the circumstance.  If you can come to a reasonable agreement and avoid the whole "court ordered support" scenario, that will benefit you (in regards to what gets put on your credit reports and what doesn't).   Unfortunately if the mother has physical custody and it's an ugly divorce, odds are the courts are going to insist on including the support judgement in with the divorce.  And there's not much you can do about how they report it to the credit reporting agencies.  Other than making sure it's paid like clock work to avoid any arrearage judgements.

I don't see how picking up and moving out of the country would ever be a good thing for your child though.