So I finally made it into te 600s on one CRA and that was coming from a score of 521 six weeks ago. I couldn't have done it without obsessively reading about everythingrelated to rebuilding on the forums....so thank you all!
When I started I had one judgment reporting on all three CRAs, that has since gone away....my ex paid the legal fees for our divorce, how big of him lol.
Now what I have remaining are two collections - one medical for less than $200, as soon as I get a PFD signed back from them I plan on paying, and the other collection is so far beyond SOL, and according to the CA CRTP it will drop off as of December 2014 
Happy Dance! It is an obsoletedebt that I have complaints in all over the place, CFPB, BBB, and my states AG.
The other baddies are 3 charge offs 
I'm sending GW emails, letters, full out GW campaign one letter twice a month....I'm going to break them
down with kindness.
Is it realistic for me to think that I could get to 650 from 601 in another six weeks? Considering I came up from 521? I have 4 credit cards as in siggy, I'm using them, paying 90% of the balance before the statement cuts, letting the remaining 10% balance carry over and then paying it afterthe new statement generates.
Should I get more cards with larger CLs, my fiance has no problem adding me...but I don't know if this would make a difference at this point?
Should I get accounts on my own not AU based? Should I just garden till December when the final collection falls off? I forgot to add that I do have two installment loans in good standing paying without fail.
Your advice is appreciated.
Hopefully all my efforts with my complaints will yield something....because I've complained to everyone.
I'm going to be the eternal optimist here, and hope that I can get my score up I've got nowhere to go but up......or so I hope
Sine the collection is due to come off Dec 2014 did you try to contact the CRA and see if you can get a early deletion ?
I agree it is very hard not to apply 
I have got to keep focused on where I want to be. Cleaning up the last couple of baddies....some lates on a student loan that have not dropped off...so I'm goodwilling them to death, and waiting till Midland finally drops off in December....I am hoping that after that I'll get a nice score increase.
In the meantime just paying off the balances....now this is where it gets wierd. When my balances are up my scores increase....when I report little to no balances, my scores decrease. I just don't understand that. For example on my OpenSky it showed almost 97% of my measly $300 balance as being utilized and I got a huge score increase....when I paid it down to 10% it showed a score decrease. I really can't figure out how this scoring system works.
Welcome to the forum, I hope you will find it as useful as I have. There are so many great posts that help you figure out what to do. I would suggest that you familiarize yourself with the frequent acronyms they use....it beomes alphabet soup after a while. I would also suggest that you read the frequently requested threads....good source of info.
I would first pull your reports you can either go to annualcreditreport.com or get it directly here. What is great about getting it here at MyFico is that you can get the 3-report version and score watch that helps you track your credit report and alerts you whenever something new is posted.
Go through your credit report with a fine tooth comb, look for anything that should have dropped off based on the 7.5 year FCRA limit. Most of all read, read, read....and ask questions of the folks at MyFico they are a wonderful resource and have almost seen and done it all when it comes to cleaning up dinged CR....you can avoid shooting yourself in the foot or waking a sleeping giant that has been resting comfortably on your report and is about to fall off.
I don't have anything solid to suggest, except when you do get your CR you can post all your baddies here and folks will give you advice and steer you in the right direction. I was about to sign up with a DMP, that would have taken me two and a half years to accomplish and paying their fees to clean up my reports. Yet something told me to log on to MyFico and from 7/22/14 to this date I have made progress without having to use a CCS or DMP. I am so very grateful to the MyFico folks. I'm not at 700 but I'm better than I was back in July....and the best part is it has been all free...minus the CMRR postage....but well worth the expense.
Remember you;ve got Nowhere to go but up Also, have lots of paitence....things don' t happen overnight and it may seem like it takes forever, but things turn do around.