I need help rebuilding my credit

[christopher_cappan]

Hi folks, I went bankcrupt back in Dec 2012, i tried getting a gas Card & got turned down this month ( jan 2013) , so i applied for a Secured Cap. one card & i got it & its now being sent to me.. I added to my security deposit to increse it to $1,000 limit from $200 given by them.

My household spends about $1,000 monthly so i asked everybody in the house  to help me  use my Cap one card & them give me the cash when they goto buy gas or groceries, etc ..

I bank with Bank of America , i just opened that checking and savings account this month .( jan 2013)

Since i got turned down by the QT gas trip & also had ano-ther credit pull for the Cap one card, i thought maybe i should not yet apply for another secured card or is it ok ??

I know that wells fargo will NOT give me a secured card yet unitl 12 month after a bankcruptcy, and i heard that Navy federal credit union was a great card to get also ??

I plan on using my Cap1 card every week and pay it off weekly so my ammurization will be low..so i will probably spend $250 ish weekly, then pay it off, etc..

I made sure ALL of the bills in the house are in my name, cell phone, gas, electric, Cable, etc.

WHat else can i do to increse my credit score ??

Should i try and have another secured credit card at this point OR is the CAP1 card enough for now ??

When should i make my next move and what should it be to help increase my credit score ??

Any help and ideas are VERY much appreciated.. i am new to all of this , thank you in advance for your help...

Chris

[fishbjc]

NFCU is wonderful!  If you're a member, give them a call....explain the situation.  They're really awesome about helping out their members.  I had an old $81 checking account that charged off.  I called, paid the $81, and they offered to reopen it.  Who else does that? 

Stay AWAY from First Premier and those other bottom feeder cards.

One note about Cap One....I know someone who had their card shut down for 'too many payments"...they were paying weekly. 

They're also a PAIN about releasing available funds after a payment is made off-site, like through your own bank.  Just keep that in mind.

[christopher_cappan]

Thank you Fishbjc , i do plan on paying off my Cap1 card weekly, so i do hope they dont give me any problems ..

Would you suggest i get any more secured credit cards at this point ?? 

any other ways you know of i can rebuild my credit faster ??

thank you so much !!

chris 

[Anonymous]

get 2 more secured cards.. get one with a Credit union.. any credit union

i have open sky cc 

www.openskycc.com and they dont pull your credit report so that will save you an inquiry

limits dont matter start with lowest possible if you have to

use 2 of the cc for small purchase once  amonth and pay it off in full before the statement cuts

ur cap one will prob me ur primary card since it is 1k limit... let that one report between 1-9% balance every month and then pay it off

figuring out when your credit card reports the balances is huge so you can control what is getting reported to your credit report by paying down the balance right before they report.

Most CC report the balance that is on your statement but call them to verify

for example my openskyy cc statement cuts on the 3rd of every month with a due date of the 28th. between days 29th-2nd keep ur balance at or under the target % so that on the 3rd it reports the balance you want and then pay it off in full before due date (28th in my case)

[ktl72455]

And a note on paying the cap 1, if you pay on line and from your checking account, the funds will not be made available again for a good 5-9 days depending on weekends and such.

Be careful about lending out your card for food, gas etc in exchange for cash to pay the bill. Just keep in mind, if they dont have it, you get stuck with it.

[christopher_cappan]

Thank you XWill04 , i SO much appreciate your tips..

.. I will sure for sure open another 1 o2 more Secured CC's...

not sure if i can get the Navy federal credit union,, i have an uncle who was life long Airforce but its hard to proove since hes been dead for 30 years and he was a loner after the military 

I might try the Open sky CC you mentioned... i like the fact they dsont pull a credit report, thats great !!

if you can think of any other ways to get my credit higher, im all ears.

thank you for helping me.. i really appreciate it , have a great day 

Chris 

[christopher_cappan]

Thank you KTL72455..

if you can think of any other ways to get my credit higher, im all ears.

thank you for helping me.. i really appreciate it , have a great day 

Chris 

[christopher_cappan]

Thank you XWill04 - what i have done is open 2 more accounts like you suggested...

as you know i went bankcrupt in December 2012, 

I recently opened a Cap1 card with a $1,000 limit... i now opened up 2 more accounts - 1 with Open Sky CC for just $300 and i just opened another CC with Navy Federal credit Union.. I plan on having a $1,000 limit with them @ Navy Federal Credit Union.. now i have 3 CC's total...

2 with $1,000 @ and the 3rd with $300 limit...- all are supposed to report monthly to the credit reporting agencies..

SO as i use all 3 of these of these credit cards, i will make weekly payments...so my Ammurization will be no more than 10% at any one time..

I also have my cell phone, cable bill, all other household dets in my name which are always paid on time automatically @ month - via Auto debit.

I am hoping in 1 year from now  i can have my credit score go up a good amount so i can qualify for a new car or a $10,000 credit limit  on a CC...

Any other ideas you have to help me increase my credit score, i am all ears,, 

thank you so much for your help 

Chris 

[TravisD]

Just note that most of your household bills do not report to the CRAs (unless of course you don't pay them)

[jsnlwrnc]

Although i havent filed BK, I too am on a credit rebuilding journey. It appears that you are in the right direction and i completely agree with all of the advice that has been given. Keep in mind not to stress out about using the card to build ur credit or getting more CCs. Although that will help, you dont necessarily have to use the card for it to report positively on ur credit. TIME is/will also be a contributing factor. As the BK and other baddies on ur credit age ur score will increase. If possible, maybe also check out getting some type of loan. like from a furniture store(Badcock or something comparible) for a small amount and make payments on it over time. That will report positively on ur credit each month.

Hope this helps, and good luck on ur journey!