August Check in Thread

[09Lexie]

The lazy, hazy days of summer will be coming to and end soon.  Some of us are getting our kids ready for back to school or we are going!  Either way, are you closer this month to your goals?  I know you are all hard at work with your credit goals.  Have we progressed as far as we hoped?  Were there any unforseen expenses that cropped up and may have thrown you off schedule?

As a reminder, participation in these monthly check-ins is optional, but encouraged. The goal is to help keep you on track, so feel free to post your progress updates here. 

Did you hit any potholes or speedbumps? Achieve some milestones, either small or mighty? Change your goals or add new ones?

Let us know how you're doing! What have been your biggest accomplishments and obstacles so far in the myFICO Fitness Challenge for 2014?

[Kennie02]

Checking in for August! I have good news to report! As of this month all my scores are 650+! Having started at 530 I am super excited about that. I couldn't get my Equifax to budge but it finally moved up when I paid down some debt! I only have 1 card left to pay off, a couple of baddies I am still waiting to get results from and some more gardening. I can't wait to get closer to 700!

[New_Beginning]

Checking in for August, July was pretty good to me, I learned a lot of things I did not know in regards to credit. Got a few things removed that I didn't know that I could and how to do it the right way and raised my score approximately 30+ across the board in one month. I am proud of myself!!! 

Since I started in June I have opened 4 tradelines and joined the gardening club in July to try to grow new good tradelines as my old negative tradelines start to age and fall off. I've learned that some CRA's are easier to work with than others and I have learned that you must keep an eye on your reports as they change often.  I have also helped my child established her first cc and directed her to this site so that she can learn how to handle and manage her credit properly as a college student, one card that is all she needs to start her own credit history not the 10 or so I had when I was 18....smh! I have also joined the great cc payoff challenge to try to get this debt of mine down as much as I can by Feb 2015 and then continue on until it is done, hopefully a new challenge will start if not I will keep it up on m own.

This forum has been so helpful, I can't express enough how grateful and lucky I feel to have found this. It all started with a google search, I was searching for the validity of Credit Karma as my child needs a car and I signed up to see where I was to help her and came across a post where someone else was impressed with Shogun's progress from 504 to his current status as he explained how CK was FAKO, I was reading it like yeah how did he do that?!?!?!? and I have been hooked since  My grandmother has always taught us you never know how you inspire others make sure the way you live inspires them the right way, Shogun definitely inspired me. 

I have told everybody who would listen about MyFico and how helpful it has been to me 

August is also my birthday month another 30+ would be the best gift ever!!! 

[Anonymous]

August was my first month visiting the myfico.com Forums.  Once I joined as a member, and asked a few questions that I could not find the answer to via Google, the help I received from so many people on here has been amazing.  Thank you to all of you that provide your time, and advice to us that are trying to recover from credit failure.

When I joined, my FICO score was a dismal 545. Within a few weeks it has improved to a poor 593.  With some discipline and patience, I'm hoping my FICO score will increase to 600 by the end of August, and 700 before 2015.

Thank you again.

[que_lynds]

Forgot to check-in for July but great news for August!! After reading many posts about CLI's I decided to give mine old CC's a try. Well GM Card flat out declined my CLI request. Shortly after my Bloomingdales Amex limit was lowered to $200 after being reviewed?!! I was really downed by failed attempts to grow my garden. I've really been trying not to open any new accounts since leasing my truck in Sept 2013. Anywho since I joined Schools First CU in January I had some credit offers I never took advantage of. One was a CC with $5000 limit at 8.5% APR. To my surprise, once I clicked on the offer it was approved and funded . No app, no inquiry. The new credit helped improve my CC balance ratio thus increasing my credit score! Checked my TU FICO today and was blown away by my score of 737!! Almost at my goal.. 

[javonnj]

Does shogun have a thread or a post that explains how he went through rebuilding his FICO score to what it is now? That progress is truly motivating, and I defintiely want to follow that path.

[bdhu2001]

---

@09Lexie wrote:

The lazy, hazy days of summer will be coming to and end soon.  Some of us are getting our kids ready for back to school or we are going!  Either way, are you closer this month to your goals?  I know you are all hard at work with your credit goals.  Have we progressed as far as we hoped?  Were there any unforseen expenses that cropped up and may have thrown you off schedule?

As a reminder, participation in these monthly check-ins is optional, but encouraged. The goal is to help keep you on track, so feel free to post your progress updates here. 

Did you hit any potholes or speedbumps? Achieve some milestones, either small or mighty? Change your goals or add new ones?

Let us know how you're doing! What have been your biggest accomplishments and obstacles so far in the myFICO Fitness Challenge for 2014?

---

August check in.  Joined challenge ‎04-24-2014 08:41 AM

As a reminder my goals for 2014 were:

1. I want to improve my FICO score to the 760-850 range. TU bankcard 792; EX bankcard 839; EQ 794 myFICO. Completed
2. I want to buy a new house near my children (keeping my current home as rental property). In Escrow.  Waiting for clear to close. Original close date was 8/12/14. No new date.
3. The FICO score I want to improve by 9/2014.  I want to be preapproved for a home loan by 11/2014. Completed

August updated goals: I’ve met goal # 1 & # 3.  I’m moving forward on goal #2.

When I get the new home, I will end up with new debt to replace the roof on my current home and fix things on my new home (debt to replace roof will exist regardless.  My roof is wood shingle and insurance will no longer cover wood shingle). 

My new goals is to not have more, total debt, for credit cards and student loans than I had at the beginning of 2014.  Prior to purchase of new home, I was on track to pay off all credit card debt by 11/2014 and student loan by 12/2014. 

Thus my goals (after purchase of new home) is to keep total CC and student loan debt below my 1/2014 balance and by March 2015 develop new plan to pay off cc & student loan debt.

Chart of debt 1/2014:

Account Name	Balance	Limit	Interest Rate	Promo rate	Promo end date
AT&T Universal	6866.39		11.99%	5.99%	Til paid
Home Depot	0
Amazon/ Chase	0		12.24%
KSFCU VISA			10.9%
Firstbank Card (Union)	17873.52		12.99%	5.99%	1/2015
DOED TREAS/OSLA	14637.53		6.55% & 2.99%
Total Debt	39377.44

8/2014 (Debt will go up from here, but keep below above chart)

Account Name	Balance	Limit	Interest Rate	Promo rate	Promo end date
Wells Visa	0			0%	1/2015
Home Depot	0
Amazon/ Chase	0		12.24%
KSFCU VISA	837		10.9%	0%	3/2015
Firstbank Card (Union	2840.06		12.99%	0%	5/2015
DOED TREAS/OSLA	7801.63		6.55% & 2.99%
Total Debt	11478.69

[javonnj]

I managed to pay off in full my Capital One Sec with a $200 limit. 

While that may be a small CL for some, I have been having a slightly difficult year with staying focused with my finances, and it felt really good to take some extra money and just pay it off completely today. At only 27, I am looking forward to developing more of a financialy responsible attitude, and setting up my future properly from a financial aspect. I am looking forward to seeing if I can inch closer to that 600 number now that my util will be at 0%

I think I will treat myself to a nice steak dinner to celebrate the very personal milestone that I accomplished. 

[renamariee]

Doing great. =] CL increased from $200 to $500 on my secured card from Capital One out of nowhere. Hopefully I can get a good interest rate for a vehicle when it comes time to purchase one.

[Anonymous]

Hello All,

I have been looking at this site for several months now and finally decided to take the jump. I have been working on my rebuilding my credit since August 2013. It manage to take a slight leap in February to 640 EQ&TU-619-EX. But since taking out an installment loan in February for 2800 and numerous Medical Bills hitting my account; it has plateau to 543 average. These are my current FICO scores. My Fako scores have me averaging from 573-650. My Cap One CC is at $2000- $1064 balance. Just opened USAA secured for $250.00. My badcock furnitue account is $1400- $400 balance. My car loan is Trulient Federal $503- paid on time.

I have a few medical collections that seem to be dragging it down Bull City Fin..reported these collection account several times a month from April to June, I only need a 620 to qualify for a mortgage. So any suggestions or assistance would be helpful. There are over 18 medical collection being reported. I have paid off over 8 of them. I have sent DV to three companies who are reporting most of the collections. I'm thinking of pulling the EOB's to see what has been paid by the Health Insurance but not sure if that will help.

Overall Goal, VA Mortgage by December 2014!!