I am sure this is inspiration for a lot of us here! Congratulations, that is beyond awesome! 

Wow! Congrats! That is fantastic!

I'm glad to see this today, because for some reason I've been thinking about the looooooong road ahead of me, and I was a bit discouraged, but this lifted me up. Congrats to you!!!

 

Also, what I like about this post is that, while there are people who write on here everyday that they went from X to Y in (a year, 2 years); this seems more realistic to me, because it's more about the slow journey to reaching your goals. There was another post where someone increased their score and secured all of these accounts in a years time, but one HUGE factor, was that persons income increased significantly, so I believe that is a huge difference! Example, if you are trying to dig out of debt, and cut back on things while you make 24k, 30k, 40k a year, while also just "living," it's difficult sometimes to find a spare dime to send to make extra payments or negotiate settlements. Again, not impossible, because there are sacrifices to be made. BUT, if a person started out in debt, and made only 20k a year, and then when they are ready to improve their credit, they are making 80-100k a year, that is a HUGE factor, because they (presumably) will have more discretionary income. Again, that's assuming that they budget, and spend LESS than they make a year.

 

Anyway, I said all of that to say, I'm glad to see a person commenting on the journey that I'm inevitably going to be making over the next several years, as I don't forsee myself increasing my income triple or quadruplefold anytime in the near future, but, I keep hope alive

 

Thanks for your encouraging post!

Congratulations OP. Can't wait to see where I am in 5 years.

 

Actuallly, I can't wait until the BK falls off. The increase in score will just be icing on the cake

I will add just a bit more. I worked extremely hard at this as well as my career. I was able to add a lot to my bottom line (salary) by gaining certifications and studying. This coupled with fiscal discipline was paramount. Back in 2008 I applied for my first mortgage loan with a credit score in the low 600s. I secured an FHA loan that I refinanced, into a standard 30 year by 2009. Just last year I refinanced again into a 15 year (as my financial situation was greatly improving).

Nothing I did occurred overnight--but early on I was on a mission to "clear my record". There were many things on my credit report not included in my BK so I wanted those to be cleared up and/or paying as agreed. Then it's basically just a waiting game. Early on it's ok to be satisfied with a secured CC. I made my bed so I was going to lie in it. After a while (2-3 years), I applied for a CC with my credit union and they were more than happy to help me rebuild. I transferred my auto loan to them and do all my banking through them as well. I suggest joining one if you haven't already.

Any questions feel free to ask.

That is great progress, Congrats on such amazing scores!

Congratulations on your success. When the bankruptcy is filed it seems like an impossible task ahead. Especially, when the bankruptcy process first starts there are a lot of emotions and stress involved. Throughout the process there were probably many highs and lows but you completed the process and now your back in the game.

 

 

Edited

Congratulations and your success!   I have a similar experience/story.  BK in 2007, 731 FICO with TU and EQ, today, with BK still showing on report.   Will be so happy when BK finally drops off in 2017.

Is there a typical amount of points that your credit raises when the BK drops off? Mine was discharged 10/03, so I'm assuming it'll drop off this October?