Hello Everyone,
I am actually very please to find this forum and looking forward to seeing how people are doing on this journey to achieving better credit.
I just started learning to repair my own credit as I have been very neglectful of my finances for the majority of my life. I have been taking alot of steps lately to get back on the right path, although I do understand that my situation is almost as bad as it gets.
I am starting with an Equifax score of: 485, Transunion 518 (although listed as 529 on Credit Karma.com) and Experian 552. My Fiance and I want to get married and buy our first home however, we quickly realized that our dreams will have to be deferred for a few years while we repair our credit. FYI (His score is only slightly hire than mine. 
We have both opened two secured credit cards (CapitalOne & Orchard Bank) and have gotten caught up on all accounts/loans that are delinquent. We're keeping our credit balances to below 30% at all time and paying each bill in full before the due date. I hope that this will help overtime to improve our scores.
I will stay encouraged as I read your stories and see you reach your milestones. I am going to do a little dance when I have reached the 600 Mark .
I will begin to offically celebrate once I have joined the 700 club 
. after that, there will be no stopping me until I have reached my goal of at least 800+.
@tubesock wrote:fthb2012, you have Great goals and you're giving yourself a couple of years to do...that's smart!
Good luck with everything!
tubesock, thanks so much for good luck wish!
I'm going to need it. I will continue to stay focused and I will see you at the never ending finishline when we both acheive our goals! Good Luck to you as well.
@MarineVietVet wrote:
@merlin8r wrote:Funny thing about that paying the CC balance in full every month. After pulling myFico score, one of the "factors hurting my score" was that I wasn't utilizing my credit card. They should take a look at that since I use it for everything ($2000+ each month) and then pay it in full just prior to the reporting date. The report shows 0 balance but would have no idea what type of monthly activity there is. It does show a high balance from the 1st month ($1666) but it seems unfair to "assume" non use and then penalize me for it with a lower score and at the same time commend me for low utilization rate. Confusing.
Hello and welcome.
It seems backwards but showing a zero balance each month can actually hurt your score. What you can do is pay down your balance to a very small amount (even $1 will be enough) several days before the statement posts so that it reports a balance. Then pay the remainder before the due date and you'll avoid interest charges, show monthly activity, and show utilization of your card.
To MarineVietVet;
I was also under the impression that paying the balance down to 0 before the due date was a good thing. Now from what I am reading on this forum, it's hurting alot more than it's helping. I would like to leave a small balance so that the utilization is reported on the credit report each month (my only issue here is that I dont know when the balances are being reported?????) I want to avoid the interest charges so I would want to time this correctly so that I can pay the remainder of my balance before the due date.
Can you give me any advice on how to determine when the balances are reported to TU, EX, EQ? Should I just call the creditor and ask them or is it some time of logic that I must learn on my own???
any help would be appreciated! Thanks in advance!
@firsttimehomebuyer2012 wrote:To MarineVietVet;
I was also under the impression that paying the balance down to 0 before the due date was a good thing. Now from what I am reading on this forum, it's hurting alot more than it's helping. I would like to leave a small balance so that the utilization is reported on the credit report each month (my only issue here is that I dont know when the balances are being reported?????) I want to avoid the interest charges so I would want to time this correctly so that I can pay the remainder of my balance before the due date.
Can you give me any advice on how to determine when the balances are reported to TU, EX, EQ? Should I just call the creditor and ask them or is it some time of logic that I must learn on my own???
any help would be appreciated! Thanks in advance!
Welcome!
Most issuers report the balance within a day or two of the statement date so it's very important to know excatly when the statement posts each month. The date will be on your old statements and of course you can always call the creditor and ask.
Everyone's situation is different and there is no one size fits all approach to this but what seems to work well for most people is to have only one of their cards report a small (<9% of it's credit limit) balance each month and then pay in full before the due date. You can use it as much as you want during the month but what's important is the reported balance because for most cards whatever is reported on the monthly statement is what is used to calculate utilization for the month.
You might have to play around with the percentages for a few months to see what works best for you. Some people say that 1-3% utilization helps the most. For others it might be 5-9%. As I said it's not one size fits all.
On any other cards always try and have them report a zero balance each month. That doesn't mean you can't use them just make sure that the desired zero balance on these accounts is achieved several days before their statements post.
Along with individual and overall utilization, FICO also scores the number of all types of accounts reporting a balance.at any one time Making sure less than half of all your accounts report a balance helps most people.
Now this approach really isn't necessary if you're not looking to apply for any credit in the near future or unless you are trying to tweak your score for maximum effect but some folks do this as a hobby just to see how high they can get their score.
@MarineVietVet wrote:
@firsttimehomebuyer2012 wrote:To MarineVietVet;
I was also under the impression that paying the balance down to 0 before the due date was a good thing. Now from what I am reading on this forum, it's hurting alot more than it's helping. I would like to leave a small balance so that the utilization is reported on the credit report each month (my only issue here is that I dont know when the balances are being reported?????) I want to avoid the interest charges so I would want to time this correctly so that I can pay the remainder of my balance before the due date.
Can you give me any advice on how to determine when the balances are reported to TU, EX, EQ? Should I just call the creditor and ask them or is it some time of logic that I must learn on my own???
any help would be appreciated! Thanks in advance!
Welcome!
Most issuers report the balance within a day or two of the statement date so it's very important to know excatly when the statement posts each month. The date will be on your old statements and of course you can always call the creditor and ask.
Everyone's situation is different and there is no one size fits all approach to this but what seems to work well for most people is to have only one of their cards report a small (<9% of it's credit limit) balance each month and then pay in full before the due date. You can use it as much as you want during the month but what's important is the reported balance because for most cards whatever is reported on the monthly statement is what is used to calculate utilization for the month.
You might have to play around with the percentages for a few months to see what works best for you. Some people say that 1-3% utilization helps the most. For others it might be 5-9%. As I said it's not one size fits all.
On any other cards always try and have them report a zero balance each month. That doesn't mean you can't use them just make sure that the desired zero balance on these accounts is achieved several days before their statements post.
Along with individual and overall utilization, FICO also scores the number of all types of accounts reporting a balance.at any one time Making sure less than half of all your accounts report a balance helps most people.
Now this approach really isn't necessary if you're not looking to apply for any credit in the near future or unless you are trying to tweak your score for maximum effect but some folks do this as a hobby just to see how high they can get their score.
Wow! Thank you for this information. I feel like I may have just craked the credit code or something by reading your reply. I am going to put this method to action right away and hopefully I will be able to see a jump in my score after I determine which rate of Utilization works best for my situation (I will keep one card with a single digit balance for a few days before the reporting date) then go ahead and pay it down to 0 right before the due date. I will pay all other CC down to a 0 balance and see what happens.
My goal is to be in the high 700's by Mid 2014. I would like to have my dream home built and be able to get a very good interest rate when I obtain a mortgage. I am starting to become obsessive compulsive where my credit is concerned.... I guess that a good thing and a complete 360 for me as I was very careless in the past.
Thanks again for your help! 
I'm looking forward to staying in touch with you and all the other positive folks on this forum. I can't wait to report my progress once a change happens in my score.... so excited to get going!
