topic Re: Should I garden? or go for Next Card? in Credit Cards

Should I garden? or go for Next Card?

MacMan313 — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 15:15:35 GMT

Im trying to figure out my next step. Should I garden or reach out for another card. My goal is to purchase a vehicle in the next 3-4 months. Looking for prime optimization.

Recent BK in October 2014. I have three credit card accounts. All under 5% utlization. Two of my scores have passed the 600 threshold.

Re: Should I garden? or go for Next Card?

Anonymous — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 15:24:42 GMT

Garden.

Big time.

Re: Should I garden? or go for Next Card?

Anonymous — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 17:58:01 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Garden.

Big time.

+100000

ficos dont really care whether you have 5k or 500k in revolving credit (this may be an exaggeration). the biggest thing is util. so if you can handle not spending much, or at least not letting much report, your utilization will be perfectly fine. especially with the recent BK, I dont see you getting approved for much else honestly.

Re: Should I garden? or go for Next Card?

MacMan313 — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 19:07:24 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Garden.

Big time.
+100000
ficos dont really care whether you have 5k or 500k in revolving credit (this may be an exaggeration). the biggest thing is util. so if you can handle not spending much, or at least not letting much report, your utilization will be perfectly fine. especially with the recent BK, I dont see you getting approved for much else honestly.

I more worried about having multipe accounts reporting with low utli. Im trying to show that I can handle the credit lines. Is this not a good idea?

Re: Should I garden? or go for Next Card?

Anonymous — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 19:35:00 GMT

HIgh lines beget high lines. this is usually true. Howeverin your case, You're not quite ready to qualify for those high lines, and therefore must garden. Also high lines dont really affect installment loans as much.

Re: Should I garden? or go for Next Card?

js0319 — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 19:39:08 GMT

Let your garden grow, and focus on your auto loan - you don't want to do anything to mess that up. Don't expect get anywhere near prime until you're at least in the 650+ range.

Re: Should I garden? or go for Next Card?

Anonymous — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 19:51:37 GMT

The bigger issue is that applying for another card means that you're going to get another HP, which will be detrimental in the near term. Since your auto-loan application is only 3-4 months away, I would avoid any further pulls until after that goes through.

Re: Should I garden? or go for Next Card?

happypill — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 20:57:19 GMT

When I read this title I thought "Next Card" was a specific credit card. I did a search and apparently it is a remnant of days gone by lingering in the back of my mind. Next Card was a credit card company that went belly up in 2002 after the doc.com bust. Their defining characteristics were that they took applications exclusively online, and that they partnered with Amazon originally to offer a card. I guess they were just ahead of their time.

Here's a link to the articla I found if anyone is interested:

http://news.cnet.com/NextCard-credit-cards-cut-off/2100-1017_3-942675.html

Re: Should I garden? or go for Next Card?

red259 — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 23:04:06 GMT

Garden. I don't see you getting anything good at this point and the new inq will make it all the harder for your future goals. You have some cards to work with so manage your credit responsibly and hopefully you will be able to move over into unsecured territory down the line.

Re: Should I garden? or go for Next Card?

chalupaman — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 23:10:14 GMT

If you're trying to get an auto or mortage loan apping for cards should be the last thing on your mind. Garden, garden, garden, and yes, more gardening. Your BK is also still really recent.

Re: Should I garden? or go for Next Card?

Anonymous — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 23:10:38 GMT

Garden.

Re: Should I garden? or go for Next Card?

Anonymous — Tue, 10 Feb 2015 13:36:43 GMT

There's plenty of cheap cars on Craigslist.

Get some tools and learn to use them.

Re: Should I garden? or go for Next Card?

Anonymous — Tue, 10 Feb 2015 14:05:42 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
There's plenty of cheap cars on Craigslist.

Get some tools and learn to use them.

Not everyone has time to deal with a Craigslist special.

I can't tell you how many times i've walked from a CL deal because the owner was obviously trying to cover up something seriously wrong..

Re: Should I garden? or go for Next Card?

Anonymous — Tue, 10 Feb 2015 16:28:27 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
There's plenty of cheap cars on Craigslist.

Get some tools and learn to use them.
Not everyone has time to deal with a Craigslist special.

I can't tell you how many times i've walked from a CL deal because the owner was obviously trying to cover up something seriously wrong..

There is that...I suppose without being a car person it's a little more daunting. My "newest" daily driver is a '73 Chevy truck and oldest a '60 Cadillac. I guess I'm not as understanding when it comes to financing a car given there's nothing new I would ever finance, and anything old that could be financed is already likely "done"...and what's the fun in that...? Heh.

I guess what I mean to say, while it's nice having good credit to finance our lives away, sometimes it's up to us to enhance our abilities and skills to make it by in life by whatever means necessary, and not just by trying to up our credit score. If you can learn to achieve the same thing yourself with your own hands, you can save yourself money and also find some personal reward and expansion of one's horizon. But it does take time...and discipline.

Good luck OP.

Re: Should I garden? or go for Next Card?

Anonymous — Tue, 10 Feb 2015 17:01:11 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
There's plenty of cheap cars on Craigslist.

Get some tools and learn to use them.
Not everyone has time to deal with a Craigslist special.

I can't tell you how many times i've walked from a CL deal because the owner was obviously trying to cover up something seriously wrong..

There is that...I suppose without being a car person it's a little more daunting. My "newest" daily driver is a '73 Chevy truck and oldest a '60 Cadillac. I guess I'm not as understanding when it comes to financing a car given there's nothing new I would ever finance, and anything old that could be financed is already likely "done"...and what's the fun in that...? Heh.

I guess what I mean to say, while it's nice having good credit to finance our lives away, sometimes it's up to us to enhance our abilities and skills to make it by in life by whatever means necessary, and not just by trying to up our credit score. If you can learn to achieve the same thing yourself with your own hands, you can save yourself money and also find some personal reward and expansion of one's horizon. But it does take time...and discipline.

Good luck OP.

Oh, believe me, there was a time when I was completely out of the auto finance game and I found that I spent more money on repairs (even while doing most of my own wrenching) than I ever would have spent on finance charges only to wind up with another 2 ton hunk of steel that I needed to get rid of.

I've played the game and perhaps I picked the wrong cars, but It simply didn't work for me. If you can make it work for you though that's fantastic.

Re: Should I garden? or go for Next Card?

Anonymous — Tue, 10 Feb 2015 17:12:03 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
There's plenty of cheap cars on Craigslist.

Get some tools and learn to use them.
Not everyone has time to deal with a Craigslist special.

I can't tell you how many times i've walked from a CL deal because the owner was obviously trying to cover up something seriously wrong..

There is that...I suppose without being a car person it's a little more daunting. My "newest" daily driver is a '73 Chevy truck and oldest a '60 Cadillac. I guess I'm not as understanding when it comes to financing a car given there's nothing new I would ever finance, and anything old that could be financed is already likely "done"...and what's the fun in that...? Heh.

I guess what I mean to say, while it's nice having good credit to finance our lives away, sometimes it's up to us to enhance our abilities and skills to make it by in life by whatever means necessary, and not just by trying to up our credit score. If you can learn to achieve the same thing yourself with your own hands, you can save yourself money and also find some personal reward and expansion of one's horizon. But it does take time...and discipline.

Good luck OP.
Oh, believe me, there was a time when I was completely out of the auto finance game and I found that I spent more money on repairs (even while doing most of my own wrenching) than I ever would have spent on finance charges only to wind up with another 2 ton hunk of steel that I needed to get rid of.

I've played the game and perhaps I picked the wrong cars, but It simply didn't work for me. If you can make it work for you though that's fantastic.

Yeah, that's understandable. Mine is done more out of passion I suppose...if it were a choice between working on a late 90's beater repeatedly and financing a new car, well...I'd be looking at a new Caddy or a Chevy crew cab with a Duramax, ha. My only choice to keep the cars going that I love are to work on them, as frustrating and futile as it may seem at times. But it's worth it in the end.

Sometimes I gotta wrap my head around why people wouldn't have passion for their car, just as a lot of people here would wonder why you'd want a First Premier or Verve card, ha. Just too full of piss and vinegar for my own good sometimes.

[/end thread derail]

Re: Should I garden? or go for Next Card?

Anonymous — Tue, 10 Feb 2015 18:31:46 GMT

+1 to gardening! Its hard work but after those approvals and low 600 scores, gardening is your BFF.