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Wish I had known about this sooner. Help with score please!

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bltrrt
Established Member

Wish I had known about this sooner. Help with score please!

When I turned 18 and no one explained anything about credit.. I have had some good accounts and cards that I have closed or were closed due to my ignorance but know I am a single mom, working on my 2nd college degree, and would love to get things right and hopefully by a home in about 2 to 3  years! Maybe!Hopefully! Who knows. I have been  reading for days and still need some help. Just got my score on here as 663  EQ. I have student loans 2 I am currently paying back  and only 1 credit card that is open. Its a JCP with 1350 cl and 300 balance. Because of my old days i have some late payments but my last late was OCT 2011. My AAOA is 4 years due to me closing some old accounts back in the day im assuming? Right? So im confused on the ratio of balance/limits thing. It says 16%. Is this a good or a bad? Im not sure. Sorry for being so slow. Im guessing if I keep paying everything on time I should be good. My JCP will be paid in full next month so i will just be paying 2 loans since the rest are deferred. Im thinking i should get one credit card and use sparingly but i have 3 inquiries from last  year so maybe I should hold off to apply since the more inquiries the more effect it will have on my score and with that score and very small income, I may not get approved for anything. Any suggestions for me?

Starting 05/15/12: FICO EQ 663
Current score: 1/2013 EQ 718, EXP 683
Goal : 700...now 750,mortgage someday

In my wallet: Amex SPG $2k, Citi thank you $2k, Toys R Us mastercard $2k, Capital one cash rewards$1500, Lowes $1200, Old navy $800, Children's place $800, JCP $1350, New york and company $200, Bank of America cash rewards $5000, Chase Disney Visa $1600, Citi simplicity $1500, Southwest visa $4500, Kohl's $ 500, Dillard's $300, Macy's $800
Message 1 of 10
9 REPLIES 9
Eberron
Established Member

Re: Wish I had known about this sooner. Help with score please!

Well I would start by trying to clear the lates. You can try sending letters to the company you were late on and explain why you were late and ask them to remove the lates. Removing the lates will boost your score. 

 

Having your utilization below 9 % is what I have been told is ideal. I would possibly look towards getting a major cc. The hard pull may hurt a bit at first but in the end be a great way to boost your score. 

 

I would say to check out credit karma there is a section that talks about your score and what you could app for and probably be approved for. It has worked really well for me. I am working towards buying my first home. 

 

Good Luck I hope this helps. 


Starting Score: 533
Current Score: 650
Goal Score: 700


Take the FICO Fitness Challenge
Message 2 of 10
RobertEG
Legendary Contributor

Re: Wish I had known about this sooner. Help with score please!

No, closing an account does not remove it from your AAoA calculation.  As long as it is still being included in your CR, it is factored into your AAoA.

Check out the math.

 

Your current score, with a relatively low AAoA and some prior derogs, is really pretty good.  I would first concentrate, as suggested, in getting the derogs deleted before attempting to get new cards.  New cards will inevitably result in inquiries to app for them, and a reduction in AAoA when you get them.  You can manage % util in the interim by keeping balances low rather than getting more CL by way of more cards.  The derogs are hurting more than the new cards will help. I would put the horse before the cart, and try to improve your score by way of deletion of the derogs.

 

GW, GW, GW.

Message 3 of 10
Crashem
Valued Contributor

Re: Wish I had known about this sooner. Help with score please!

I agree with other posters. Try to get those lates off. Addyionally, you need to get a couple more cards. Cards 2&3 will likely raise your score assuming pif behavior. You need to actively manage your credit for next year. Don't ever keep balance. Don't worry bout inquiries. A couple more wont really hurt your score that much but you can afford very few rejections. So need to be careful what to go for. Btw, what are 3 existing inquiries for and what happened. Btw, your fico is decent so there are cards out there for you much you probably need to manage every point.
               LIMITS IN CARD DESCRIPTIONS
Message 4 of 10
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Wish I had known about this sooner. Help with score please!


@bltrrt wrote:

When I turned 18 and no one explained anything about credit..


Side note, we as a community all need to collectively fix this. Many of us (myself included) also fall into this category!

Message 5 of 10
AZHeather
Frequent Contributor

Re: Wish I had known about this sooner. Help with score please!


@Anonymous wrote:

@bltrrt wrote:

When I turned 18 and no one explained anything about credit..


Side note, we as a community all need to collectively fix this. Many of us (myself included) also fall into this category!


+1,000,000

Message 6 of 10
bltrrt
Established Member

Re: Wish I had known about this sooner. Help with score please!


@Eberron wrote:

Well I would start by trying to clear the lates. You can try sending letters to the company you were late on and explain why you were late and ask them to remove the lates. Removing the lates will boost your score. 

 

Having your utilization below 9 % is what I have been told is ideal. I would possibly look towards getting a major cc. The hard pull may hurt a bit at first but in the end be a great way to boost your score. 

 

I would say to check out credit karma there is a section that talks about your score and what you could app for and probably be approved for. It has worked really well for me. I am working towards buying my first home. 

 

Good Luck I hope this helps. 


Thank you. I will write and see. Those are what they call good wills? right? I saw that on credit karma about the credi t card match but i let that go because they had my score as over 700 and i was reading that those scores where not the real ones but i will find some cards within my score. Thank you!

Starting 05/15/12: FICO EQ 663
Current score: 1/2013 EQ 718, EXP 683
Goal : 700...now 750,mortgage someday

In my wallet: Amex SPG $2k, Citi thank you $2k, Toys R Us mastercard $2k, Capital one cash rewards$1500, Lowes $1200, Old navy $800, Children's place $800, JCP $1350, New york and company $200, Bank of America cash rewards $5000, Chase Disney Visa $1600, Citi simplicity $1500, Southwest visa $4500, Kohl's $ 500, Dillard's $300, Macy's $800
Message 7 of 10
bltrrt
Established Member

Re: Wish I had known about this sooner. Help with score please!


@RobertEG wrote:

No, closing an account does not remove it from your AAoA calculation.  As long as it is still being included in your CR, it is factored into your AAoA.

Check out the math.

 

Your current score, with a relatively low AAoA and some prior derogs, is really pretty good.  I would first concentrate, as suggested, in getting the derogs deleted before attempting to get new cards.  New cards will inevitably result in inquiries to app for them, and a reduction in AAoA when you get them.  You can manage % util in the interim by keeping balances low rather than getting more CL by way of more cards.  The derogs are hurting more than the new cards will help. I would put the horse before the cart, and try to improve your score by way of deletion of the derogs.

 

GW, GW, GW.

 


Thank you!I did not realize that. I will definitely try the GW
Starting 05/15/12: FICO EQ 663
Current score: 1/2013 EQ 718, EXP 683
Goal : 700...now 750,mortgage someday

In my wallet: Amex SPG $2k, Citi thank you $2k, Toys R Us mastercard $2k, Capital one cash rewards$1500, Lowes $1200, Old navy $800, Children's place $800, JCP $1350, New york and company $200, Bank of America cash rewards $5000, Chase Disney Visa $1600, Citi simplicity $1500, Southwest visa $4500, Kohl's $ 500, Dillard's $300, Macy's $800
Message 8 of 10
bltrrt
Established Member

Re: Wish I had known about this sooner. Help with score please!


@Crashem wrote:
I agree with other posters. Try to get those lates off. Addyionally, you need to get a couple more cards. Cards 2&3 will likely raise your score assuming pif behavior. You need to actively manage your credit for next year. Don't ever keep balance. Don't worry bout inquiries. A couple more wont really hurt your score that much but you can afford very few rejections. So need to be careful what to go for. Btw, what are 3 existing inquiries for and what happened. Btw, your fico is decent so there are cards out there for you much you probably need to manage every point.

Ialll the inquireis were declined for credit cards I  cannot remember why i was delined  though.I got sime of those  pre- approval things and i still got shot down .

Starting 05/15/12: FICO EQ 663
Current score: 1/2013 EQ 718, EXP 683
Goal : 700...now 750,mortgage someday

In my wallet: Amex SPG $2k, Citi thank you $2k, Toys R Us mastercard $2k, Capital one cash rewards$1500, Lowes $1200, Old navy $800, Children's place $800, JCP $1350, New york and company $200, Bank of America cash rewards $5000, Chase Disney Visa $1600, Citi simplicity $1500, Southwest visa $4500, Kohl's $ 500, Dillard's $300, Macy's $800
Message 9 of 10
Crashem
Valued Contributor

Re: Wish I had known about this sooner. Help with score please!

Get your reported util below 9%. Gw Gw Gw those lates off it you can. See where your score is at that point. You need to get some major credit cards on file, visa mc Amex discover. But because your file is thin, you need as high score as possible for applying. Other option is go for some crappy cards and wait 6 months to year to get better cards. Maybe local cu in person that is friendly to credit building.
               LIMITS IN CARD DESCRIPTIONS
Message 10 of 10
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