Good or bad?

[Anonymous]

Okay, so I got my score last month and it was 562 (EQ). The main thing hurting me was I was at 83% on my cards. I decided to pay them off as fast as I can, but figured I would open new accounts in the mean time to help it chage faster. Well, I got several new cards(Kay's, Macy's, Wal-mart, etc.) The score went up to 575 before all of them even showed up. Great.....but....now it is down to 570. My amount of new credit went from not good to bad, but my usage went from bad to not good. UGH!! Which is worse? I know as I pay my cards down each month, I will add points back in. I have some collections that are hurting, too, but nothing I can do abotu those. I just wonder if I did the right thing.

[GFer]

New account dings and inquiries do hurt for the first year. But you're right---they lessen with time. I actually started to get points back at the three month mark. I did this too. Basically, I was trying to dilute the bad with good. And I've succeeded quite a bit.

You'll be okay, especially if you're credit plan is long term. As your accounts age you'll gain more points and you'll gain even more points (quicker) if you get your utilization down. Actually, utilization on revolving credit is the faster way to gain points!

GL

[Anonymous]

Thanks. I was getting worried that I went about this the wrong way. I sure wish those darn collections were gone, but not until 2012 and 2013. UGH!! 14 of them all for the same place. Can't pay them. I just hope once the cards are paid, the collections won't look so bad if my score is higher.

[SCF]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Thanks. I was getting worried that I went about this the wrong way. I sure wish those darn collections were gone, but not until 2012 and 2013. UGH!! 14 of them all for the same place. Can't pay them. I just hope once the cards are paid, the collections won't look so bad if my score is higher.

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Have you taken a look at the great info on the Rebuilding Your Credit board?  Once those debts get past the SOL (so you can't be sued for them) you have some options in terms of getting CAs to settle with you and remove the entry from your report.  There are no guarentees, but a lot of people have found it worth the effort.

It sounds like you're on the right track in terms of CCs though, now it's just the hard part, waiting and paying on time.  It'll seem like forever, but soon enough you'll see the fruits (or veggies) of your credit garden.

[Anonymous]

I have read about that and I am not even sure what the sol is. Also, I once (long ago) tried to get them to settle for less and they were very stubborn. I really do not see a way to get these off of my back, but I sure wish I could. They are the only negative items I have now.

[llecs]

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forevergroovy wrote:
I have read about that and I am not even sure what the sol is. Also, I once (long ago) tried to get them to settle for less and they were very stubborn. I really do not see a way to get these off of my back, but I sure wish I could. They are the only negative items I have now.

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Ditto to what everyone else said. IMO, I wouldn't try to remove any of them unless SOL expired on all of them or if I had $$$ to PIF the ones still SOL, because they are with the same CA.

Here's a handy chart to tell if you are within SOL:

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/cc/20040116b2.asp

FYI, handle medical collections differently, if applicable. Use the HIPAA process if so.