@Anonymous wrote:Does anyone have any suggestions for how to begin repairing your credit while still struggling and living paycheck to paycheck? We really are living on basics (no cable, no internet, no fancy car, no dinners or nights out ect.) Im desperate to turn my credit back around but have so many things in collections i dont even know where to begin. I have number (20ish?) accounts in collections ranging from $37 to several thousand a piece. Im lost and the thought of even trying to get back to the 700 score i had before seems...impossible and mind boggling
This should be in the rebuild section so you get better answers...
My suggestion? Pull your credit reports (annualcreditreport.com) and see what's there. Learn/reserach how to GW the accounts and they'll probably start falling off. The issue you'll face is that the most basic step is to get a secured credit card. That takes money. If you can't make ends meat or barely maybe getting new credit would be a distant goal AFTER reparing it.
Have you thought about bankruptcy? Is it that bad? Do a lot of reserach about all your options on the forum and other sources.
I have coppies of 2 of my 3 credit reports as well as credit monitoring through IDprotect because my tax return was compormised. Im not good with the abreviations. What do you mean when you say GW the accounts.
Yes a secured card is on my list come tax return time. Originally my plan was to put all of my tax return towards paying off debts but as is life things have come up and the majority of that money is already spoken for. I found a card through the navy federal credit union thats secured and requires a $500 deposit but has no annual or montly fee like the rest ive looked at. Luckily i can get membership with them so i think that will be my best bet there.
Ive thought about bankruptcy often but if i can start tackeling this somehow i think i will be able to pay it off faster then it would take me to recover from bankruptcy. Luckily my parents paid off my student loan so while i owe them the money now id say credit report wise im looking at about $20,000 in total debts.
My husband on the other hand has significant debt over $50,000. Every debt he has is a medical bill. How would it affect us together if he were to file for bankruptcy? Its all so very confusing and it seems (almost) everyone out there wants money to point you in the right direction 
**reposting original question in the rebuild section, thank you!
@Anonymous wrote:I have coppies of 2 of my 3 credit reports as well as credit monitoring through IDprotect because my tax return was compormised. Im not good with the abreviations. What do you mean when you say GW the accounts.
Yes a secured card is on my list come tax return time. Originally my plan was to put all of my tax return towards paying off debts but as is life things have come up and the majority of that money is already spoken for. I found a card through the navy federal credit union thats secured and requires a $500 deposit but has no annual or montly fee like the rest ive looked at. Luckily i can get membership with them so i think that will be my best bet there.
Ive thought about bankruptcy often but if i can start tackeling this somehow i think i will be able to pay it off faster then it would take me to recover from bankruptcy. Luckily my parents paid off my student loan so while i owe them the money now id say credit report wise im looking at about $20,000 in total debts.
My husband on the other hand has significant debt over $50,000. Every debt he has is a medical bill. How would it affect us together if he were to file for bankruptcy? Its all so very confusing and it seems (almost) everyone out there wants money to point you in the right direction
**reposting original question in the rebuild section, thank you!
It's been moved for you 
The mods are pretty good about this stuff. I suggest living in the rebuild forum. Read as much as you can and absorb before you do anyhthing. Specifically go here: http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Rebuilding-Your-Credit/Frequently-Requested-Threads/td-p/224981 for starters you'll learn common abbervations and what they mean and how to go about it. A GW is a Good Will. If your debt is years old you can send them letters to remove it or reduce it or work out a plan for you.
The basics:
1. You get your 3 credit reports (not 2... all 3) the reason being is that something may be on 1 that are not on the others. You make sure it's accurate if not then dispute it. Make sure everything is current and accurate.
2. GW the debt to get it removed or reduced.
3. Apply for a secured card/store card (using the shopping card trick) to establish current credit. - Watch utilization and payments
4. contune GWing the items on your report until they're handled.
You may want to reserach lawyers about Bankruptcy to talk with... But they're paid to get you to go that route. Either way lawyers cost money to do Chap 7 or 13 (7 is up front 13 is paid during payments) so either way you need money to move forward. The "Do it yourself" steps above is less money but more time.... But money is still needed depending on your profile.
