I became concerned with rebuilding my credit five years ago. I was 19 years old--my credit file consisted of two CC charge offs and a few collection accounts from said CC's, medical bills, cell phone bills, etc. While I don't remember the exact numbers, I do know my credit scores were in the high 400's. I made efforts to pay off any outstanding medical bills, but other than that I didn't really take my credit seriously; I didn't understand how much it would impact me five years down the road.
Needless to say, I'm a much more responsible person these days. I seriously started working to repair my credit this January. At this point my scores were in the 620's-630's, most likely due to the fact that I have a few student loans and my mother added me as an AU to one of her Amex cards. I paid off/settled every single outstanding debt I had. I suppose I could've found ways to just make tradelines "go away," but if anyone ever asks me if I have any unpaid financial obligations, I'm glad I'll be able to look them in the eye and say "nope."
After paying my debts, I worked to make the TL's go away. Whether by sending PFD letters or by disputing inaccuracies via CRA, BBB or AG, I was slowly able to get rid of CA's from Midland, Asset Acceptance, Convergent, RJM, etc. This leaves me with a settled Chase CO which will fall off in February. I've since been able to attain credit cards from NFCU, USAA, Capital One, and GECRB. I've paid three of the four off in full every month, while the NFCU card has a balance that is about to be paid off. I just received my first CLI the other day on the GE (Walmart) card.
At first I wondered how I would handle having credit cards after I messed up as a teenager. Needless to say, being mature and educated about credit, as well as actively pursuing more knowledge on the subject, makes it so much easier to act responsibly. I haven't had any urges to spend outside my means, and I haven't had any trouble making sure the bills are paid on time. Just having the cards makes life so much less stressful. My finances have become much more fluid--being a low income college student, I'm now able to buy what I need and pay any bills I need to whenever is necessary; I'm no longer a slave to the pay schedule and the unstable paychecks. I even started making automatic contributions to a savings account--since opening it five months ago, the balance is starting to grow and I haven't needed to touch it once!
All this time, my score has been steadily rising as my good credit behavior continues. Everything has been floating around in the 680's and 690's lately, but I just got the SW alert when I got home from work today: my EQ score has officially hit 701! It will most likely drop when the next Stafford Loan hits my CR's, but it's good to know that I really am getting there. I just figured I'd share my little progress report with you guys, seeing as I couldn't have made it this far without you.
Cheers. 
Congratulations!
im working on the 700 club i give myself 3 months. im starting to figure out credit good credit is no overnight dream.
@Leadberry wrote:I became concerned with rebuilding my credit five years ago. I was 19 years old--my credit file consisted of two CC charge offs and a few collection accounts from said CC's, medical bills, cell phone bills, etc. While I don't remember the exact numbers, I do know my credit scores were in the high 400's. I made efforts to pay off any outstanding medical bills, but other than that I didn't really take my credit seriously; I didn't understand how much it would impact me five years down the road.
Needless to say, I'm a much more responsible person these days. I seriously started working to repair my credit this January. At this point my scores were in the 620's-630's, most likely due to the fact that I have a few student loans and my mother added me as an AU to one of her Amex cards. I paid off/settled every single outstanding debt I had. I suppose I could've found ways to just make tradelines "go away," but if anyone ever asks me if I have any unpaid financial obligations, I'm glad I'll be able to look them in the eye and say "nope."
After paying my debts, I worked to make the TL's go away. Whether by sending PFD letters or by disputing inaccuracies via CRA, BBB or AG, I was slowly able to get rid of CA's from Midland, Asset Acceptance, Convergent, RJM, etc. This leaves me with a settled Chase CO which will fall off in February. I've since been able to attain credit cards from NFCU, USAA, Capital One, and GECRB. I've paid three of the four off in full every month, while the NFCU card has a balance that is about to be paid off. I just received my first CLI the other day on the GE (Walmart) card.
At first I wondered how I would handle having credit cards after I messed up as a teenager. Needless to say, being mature and educated about credit, as well as actively pursuing more knowledge on the subject, makes it so much easier to act responsibly. I haven't had any urges to spend outside my means, and I haven't had any trouble making sure the bills are paid on time. Just having the cards makes life so much less stressful. My finances have become much more fluid--being a low income college student, I'm now able to buy what I need and pay any bills I need to whenever is necessary; I'm no longer a slave to the pay schedule and the unstable paychecks. I even started making automatic contributions to a savings account--since opening it five months ago, the balance is starting to grow and I haven't needed to touch it once!
All this time, my score has been steadily rising as my good credit behavior continues. Everything has been floating around in the 680's and 690's lately, but I just got the SW alert when I got home from work today: my EQ score has officially hit 701! It will most likely drop when the next Stafford Loan hits my CR's, but it's good to know that I really am getting there. I just figured I'd share my little progress report with you guys, seeing as I couldn't have made it this far without you.
Cheers.
Starting Score: 5/30/13 TU 630; EQ618: EX PLUS639
The USAA card is a "Classic" Platinum Visa. USAA had sent me a preapproved offer for a Platinum Visa at the beginning of the year. I actually threw it away thinking it must have been a mistake, but at some point I read on these boards that a preapproved offer from USAA is indeed a "firm" offer. So, I logged in to my account online, and sure enough the offer was still there. I applied, and while it came back that they couldn't approve me for the card, which was expected, they counteroffered with the Classic card. It is an unsecured card with a $35 AF, a hard $1,000 limit (no increases), no balance transfers, no cash advances, and an APR around 22%-25%. However, it has the ability to graduate to a standard USAA Visa after 18 months of good behavior and with good creditworthiness. I hope this helps.
To everyone else, thank you for the kind words!