It'd be nice if 2016 was that year, but it doesn't seem so after I pulled my Annualcreditreport.com reports. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't put down today with this information. I'm pretty sure I've been thinking/assuming (There's my first problem) that my "bad" debt would fall off around 2015/2016, but that date seems to be 08/2017 according to the DoFD's on ACR. That's *SUCH* a long way away...Granted, I've come a long way as well. 4 years have passed and the stretch is proving to be disheartening.
The new information is making me look into GW's again since all of my debts are paid, but I don't want to light another fire of disappointment with all the denials since most of my CA's/OC's are tough cookies. For someone that lives a day at a time, 08/2017 is practically an eternity. It probably feels worse because the "progress" has slowed to a crawl due to lack of moves to make. I can literally only benefit from deletions and age. Trying to stay positive here, but what a gut punch! I am sending you the email I used for my PRA deletion via PM.
Starting Score: EQ: 383 2/2011
Hello everyone!
To those that have been following my journey since the beginning, I thank you and I hope some of the information was useful to you. To those of you that started reading tonight and made it here, I hope the same for you as well and you get a bonus! Some new info!
The usual suspects: Wal-Mart/Amazon/Paypal/Barclay/Chase/Best Buy have not moved in ALL this time, lol. They are all very stagnant as far as CLI activity is concerned. Barclay did start at $500 and is now at $1,500 but that was some time ago and no movement. Not a big deal, just updating. Capital One (Credit Steps????) was bumped again to $2,500 unsolicited. I was very close to closing this card due to the fact that it is a Credit Steps and I have received some nice(r) cards since. I started my relationship with DCU in July, and have since been approved for their DCU Platinum Visa at $2,000 and a $20,000 auto loan at 4.49%. I'll say that again....4.49%...WHAT!?!?! Lol. I have also since traded in my 28 year old mid life crisis Camaro SS and now have an AWD Luxury Cadillac CTS.
Today (and before my tax return!) I have paid down my util to 10% exactly, so I can't wait for this month (maybe next months) update to see where my scores settle at. I was also FINALLY approved for a Discover IT for $1,000 so I removed the AU I had on my wife's and I am rolling solo. Best Buy screwed me, hard, so I closed the account and I will only use them for what they actually are: A live showroom with fast returns for Amazon. Long story short, I purchased a TV from them 18 months ago and charged $500 to the card. I made payments for 18 months while also buying things in between like Tablets for my kids. I had $200 available and went to buy something for $150 and it declined me. I called and they said "Your 18 month promotion for the TV expired and you still owed $240 on it, so you were charged $200 in interest yesterday." Hmm, how shady is THAT? Might be my fault for assuming that whenever I made payments it went toward my initial purchase, but the tablets somehow superceded the TV for payments and it cost me $200. I closed the card on the spot and I am done with that nonsense.
One of my recent CLI request denial letters said my TU was 662, so no 700 yet, but CLOSE! I have a TON of inquiries between 2 auto loans and all that that I am not hopeful of being approved for any lender that hates inquiries for a while. The ball is still rolling, people! Bad accounts are getting older and weaker, and good accounts are aging very nicely. I have missed not one payment since this journal was started across all ~10 of my accounts and I will be in the housing market as soon as we get my wife's cards down ($3,500 to go) and let some of the new accounts and inquiries age so it doesn't look like we're desperate chumps. I imagine I will use DCU? Or Chase? I don't think FHA is the way to go even though we are first time buyers. I'll look into it more when it's closer to reality. Thanks for reading everyone and don't give up. Just keep moving forward!
Rob
Blank message? 
Thank you, roniram and imperfectfuture for the kind words and continued encouragemment. I have been working at this very hard. I definitely used the "beat myself up" about it approach. I think a lot of people don't realize that 9/10 times, they did this to themselves. I am one of those people, and admittedly in the beginning, I looked at this whole situation as some wrong that was done to me and I didn't understand why or have the energy to figure out why. It was only when I took that cold, hard look in the mirror and said "I can have the credit my peers have. I can get the car I want at a respectable rate. I dug this hole, and I need to get myself out of it.
Pretty decent update to provide you all with. It's been an interesting 6 months to say the least: here goes.
This part is a medical issue I suffered. Scroll down to see credit updates:
I made my lost post here around 1/27 or so. Well, on 2/1 I became DEATHLY ill, and I didn't have medical insurance. I waited until 2/4 to try and get better on my own, but it just got worse. Dizziness, nausea, diarrhea, chest pains, what felt like heart palpitations and sleeplessness. I thought I was just going to die. I went to the ER on 2/4 and was diagnosed with "Anxiety." Let's just say that was wrong, and I was back in the ER with the SAME symptoms on 2/21, all the while SUFFERING in misery for 17 days thinking I just had anxiety? I thought I had food poisoning, nothing was making sense. They did EKG's, blood tests, CT scans of my belly, nothing. On 2/21's visit, they released me with NO diagnosis and a recommendation to go get a colonoscopy.
I suffered again until around 4/1, when I went to a different doctor who prescribed me "gram negative?" antibiotics. Long story short, on 5/27 I went to a dentist because of some pain in my gums (that I have not had for 6 months) and found a periodontal abscess in my face that spread inward. Well now it was pussing and was just not good. This abscess was the reason for all of the symptoms above, and it nearly ruined my life. I'd be lying if for 6 months I didn't consider suicide. I felt like I was living in the third person, like I was being poisoned. All because of a tooth/gums that had NO SIGNS of injury or swelling or anything. I had a lot of medical bills, some went away, some paid, but it was just awful and it's part of the reason I haven't posted much. If you ever just feel "sick", but you're not vomiting and it will not go away and nobody is seemingly willing to help you, go to a dentist. I needed "gram positive" antibiotics, so when I took the gram negative ones, it did nothing. What a crappy 6 months. I feel better now, still not 100%. I have to get insurance in January and see if this had long term effects or something.
Credit Updates
So, other than that, a lot has changed and I am excited to share some of it, and not so excited to share a little bit. I'll start with a CL listing.
Wal-mart: $400 (Bastards gave my wife a CLI, they no like me.) Currently at $600. Slap in the face CLI, but alas, a CLI.
Best Buy: $500 (Same as when opened. Citi is probably not gonna hook me up anytime soon.) CLOSED, I never recommend getting a Best Buy card.
Kay Jewelers: $2,500 (Up from $800 when I got it. Big time bump.) $5,000. Scary. My wife gives me looks.
Amazon: $600 (Same as when opened. ALSO gave my wife luv. 
) $1,100. $500 increase since I last posted them. Not bad.
Barclay Rewards: $1,500 ($500 starting. Nice increase.) Same.
Capital One: $1,500 (Credit Steps $500 starting. Good progress.) $2,500. I'll take it!
Chase Freedom: $500 (Same as when opened.) $500. I have a feeling this card will never grow since I got it in such a bad credit situation, but I'll keep it.
PayPal Smart Connect: $300 (Same as when opened.) Still $300. Trash.
Macy's: $800 ($300 starting. Progress!) Probably still $800, I don't use or track this card anymore.
And now: New additions:
DCU Visa: $5,000
GM Buypower Cadillac WEMC: $300. What. A. Joke. Lol.
CareCredit: $3,000 to pay for the dental work I needed done. Such a horrible experience.
Discover: $1,500.
A lot of movement here. My scores are hovering in the 650-671 range on the 4 or so different cards that give me a score. I have really high UTI right now, and I need to get a handle on my finances or it could get really bad. I splurged on building a really nice AR-15 and bought a couple new pistols. Got ahead of myself. I made and use/update everyday a spreadsheet that shows all of my accounts, their respective balances and due dates as well as a rudimentary interest rate calculator. I recently added that, and I pay close to $200 a MONTH in interest between my wife and my cards. That is sickening and I am starting a pay down to fix it. I'd really like a debt consolidation loan, and I can hopefully hit DCU up for one when I lower this UTI a bit. I let it get a little out of hand but I still have zero lates and everything is good. If I lost my job, though, I'd be in the toilet in the **bleep** house, not just IN the **bleep** house. That is my update for now. I am trying to get my EQ to 675 so I can get close to DCU's best rate and either refi my Cadillac or trade it for something cheaper so I can reduce this debt hole I dug myself. I don't deserve the nice car right now. I have to go back to basics.
I kind of like how this thread goes from 383 scores, in the dumps with no credit, to having some credit and getting a better job to digging myself a shallow grave of debt that I need to get a handle on. It gives this journal personality, and let's me reflect on the situation so I can commit to fixing it. Thanks for reading, and good luck with your credit repair journey. I hope this helps you.
Hey all! Nothing necessarily new to report here. My scores are hovering in the 670 range, I quit my job of over 5 years for an $8,000/yr raise which has helped me pay down the little bit of debt I accrued. Today I was approved for an American Express Gold. Chase Sapphire Preferred and Citi are my only dream cards left now. I am just maintaining pace. I didn't receive any responses or many views from my last extesive post, so I am keeping future posts at a minimum with just the facts unless interest is piqued again in other aspects of rebuilding. Hope this helps some of you.
