Ok, so I have been lurking around the boards for a while but this will be my first post. I am looking for some advice specific to rebuilding credit in my situation. I am 22 years old, I have a very low credit score (high 400s) due to some rough patches I went through directly out of high school. I do not currently have any open credit accounts of any kind. My phone is prepaid and what I do have on my credit is closed/charged off accounts and repossessions. I am finally in a stable situation where I can save up a bit of money and work on repairing my credit. I now live with my parents and work full time. I was originally planning to work with a company on my credit, but considering that most of my accounts are no older than from 2013 I doubt I would have much luck there. I can't afford to waste my money. I can afford to spend $1000 monthly on debts to help clear up my credit. So, here are some questions I am hoping to have answered.
I currently have no good accounts on my report. Obviously I need to get something good on there, and a secured card or two seems like the best route. I am wondering if I should start going after my debts/baddies first, or the secured cards first? I bank with Wells Fargo so I plan to get their secured card at $300, and one other if I can find one for $200. I would like to get the cards and put them away so that I'm not using them. But mostly I'm wondering if getting those secured cards started ASAP will be more beneficial than paying on "inactive" debts? Also when paying these debts, is it better to contact the original creditor and attempt to pay them or go straight to the collection agency? For example I have a collection showing $500 from a CA, for my old chase bank account. I would prefer to go through Chase itself as they are only showing $200 owed and if I pay them I might have a chance at reopening an account with them in the future. But will I just end up having to pay both if I pay Chase first?
My second question is regarding PFD amounts. Several of my baddies are under $1000 and I could offer PFD in full on each one month at a time. However there is another that is $2500, and the repos are all $8500 or more. It would take me absolutely forever to save up to pay these in full. Would it be acceptable to offer PFD at a lower amount of the balance on these? If so is there a certain percentage that would be acceptable?
Also, at this point, should I be trying to find a small secured loan to increase my score as well? I don't want to bother with that if it won't actively help my score, but if I did I would be looking for something about $500 or less.
Thats all I've got for now. Thanks so much for reading and for any feedback you may have! I am excited and ready to rebuild my credit and finally move on from my tough times.
