topic Re: Gardening Advice - How do you resist applying? in Credit Cards

Gardening Advice - How do you resist applying?

Anonymous — Thu, 13 Aug 2015 19:25:14 GMT

I'm new to myfico and my credit journey. Said to myself I was only going to apply to one card - applied to CapOne QS1 - got it 2000K CL. I didn't know anything about cards at the time and realized I would benefit from the rotating categories on a Discover It or Chase Freedom. Waited a month - applied for Chase Freedom - got it 1500 CL. Now I'm super tempted by other cards, I know its a bad move to make and I really don't need anymore per say. How do you stay in the garden with all the attractive fruit?

Re: Gardening Advice - How do you resist applying?

Anonymous — Thu, 13 Aug 2015 19:46:00 GMT

In my case it's my crappy score LOL

I tell my family and other half ad nauseum when I apply and they are well versed in guilt tripping and shaming. That puts an end to my desire to app again actually.

Re: Gardening Advice - How do you resist applying?

Callandra — Thu, 13 Aug 2015 19:49:00 GMT

Come join the fun times in the Garden Club thread.

I try to think of the long term (yes, a bonus is great but it's one time only and the memory fades quickly!). I think, "will I still use this card in 5 years from now?" and also, "is it really going to give me more rewards or just spread my rewards thinner because I have too many cards for my spend?" I try to use logic on myself.

Re: Gardening Advice - How do you resist applying?

onstar — Thu, 13 Aug 2015 19:53:02 GMT

1. Get 1 or 2 more cards now .Study up on the various cards. See which would be most useful to you. See which you would qualify for.

2. Stay out of the myFICO forums for as long as you want to garden. You're welcome.

3. Also, if you cannot garden, then F it. Just keep apping. Pretend this whole gardening thing is a prank and not real.

Naturally the F stands for "forget" like the Cee Lo song.

Re: Gardening Advice - How do you resist applying?

Pway — Thu, 13 Aug 2015 19:59:22 GMT

My scores. I have raised my util a little to remind me not to apply for nothing.

Re: Gardening Advice - How do you resist applying?

icyhot — Thu, 13 Aug 2015 20:05:07 GMT

For one my scores suck from so much apping so I know I won't be approved. Also I have created a chart with all my cards and what they get used for. So far, I have more than enough cards to cover all my spend, so when I look at a card I want I say "will this fit into my spending, or will it barely be used?" And that stops me from apping cuz a new card would cause a current card to be obsolete

Re: Gardening Advice - How do you resist applying?

Anonymous — Thu, 13 Aug 2015 20:07:56 GMT

@onstar wrote:
1. Get 1 or 2 more cards now .Study up on the various cards. See which would be most useful to you. See which you would qualify for.

2. Stay out of the myFICO forums for as long as you want to garden. You're welcome.

3. Also, if you cannot garden, then F it. Just keep apping. Pretend this whole gardening thing is a prank and not real.

I would garden and study while gardening so you can learn more about CCs and really decide which one meets your needs. I dont mean disrespect, but doesnt make sense to get cards now if you dont know what works for you. You might get the card/s and decide a few months down the road that they dont work for you. Only apply as needed. Work those cards you just got approved for and build a good history. In two years, you'll be happyas to how much you learned and glad you didnt waste HPs on cards you didnt needed then (now).

Join the garden club, that helps you stay away. Seach it and you'll know how to go about it.

Just my opinion. Good luck!

Re: Gardening Advice - How do you resist applying?

Anonymous — Thu, 13 Aug 2015 20:10:43 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I'm new to myfico and my credit journey. Said to myself I was only going to apply to one card - applied to CapOne QS1 - got it 2000K CL. I didn't know anything about cards at the time and realized I would benefit from the rotating categories on a Discover It or Chase Freedom. Waited a month - applied for Chase Freedom - got it 1500 CL. Now I'm super tempted by other cards, I know its a bad move to make and I really don't need anymore per say. How do you stay in the garden with all the attractive fruit?

Best way to get you to garden? Wait until you're in the 700 range and get some really nice credit limits! Going with a major credit card company now would set a low precedent with them and start you with a really low limit. Trust me, it's worth the wait!

Re: Gardening Advice - How do you resist applying?

MissMc89 — Thu, 13 Aug 2015 20:11:12 GMT

What's stopping me is that I came out of the garden earlier than planned only to get a CL that was much smaller than anticipated. And of course that app negatively affected my score after I'dbeen doing so well raising it. So now I'm trying to practice self control and keep my long term goals in mind. It also helps that I'm pretty sure that more credit would just tempt me to use it instead of merely having it help with my utilization. Stay strong!

Re: Gardening Advice - How do you resist applying?

Anonymous — Thu, 13 Aug 2015 20:13:58 GMT

@MissMc89 wrote:
What's stopping me is that I came out of the garden earlier than planned only to get a CL that was much smaller than anticipated. And of course that app negatively affected my score after I'dbeen doing so well raising it. So now I'm trying to practice self control and keep my long term goals in mind. It also helps that I'm pretty sure that more credit would just tempt me to use it instead of merely having it help with my utilization. Stay strong!

It's so tempting but as soon as you think about applying, just close the window lol

Re: Gardening Advice - How do you resist applying?

Anonymous — Thu, 13 Aug 2015 21:10:35 GMT

Right now I'm resisting because it might jeopardize my Amex 180 day CLI attempt coming up next month. Once that passes, I think I'll just un-plug all my computers.

Re: Gardening Advice - How do you resist applying?

Anonymous — Thu, 13 Aug 2015 21:15:24 GMT

Check out your credit report, you know the pages with the little green OK's. It's halfway thru August and some of my OK' only are June! That is a slow starter, leave him be.

Re: Gardening Advice - How do you resist applying?

kjel — Thu, 13 Aug 2015 21:21:57 GMT

I was unintentionally in the garden when I was rebuilding. Fortunately I did have some good standing accounts so I rebuilt leveraging them. Then I decided I wanted to buy a house, so I didn't app for anything other than the mortgage and joining Navy Fed.

After I closed on my house, my scores shot up a bit so I figured I'd bite the bullet and app for CSP and Amex BCP which I got in January. I have zero interest in any other cards and no desire to app for anything at this time. I have all that I need and want.

Re: Gardening Advice - How do you resist applying?

ddemari — Thu, 13 Aug 2015 21:27:16 GMT

I used to ponder the same question, too. But, I have found out it's pretty black or white.

U can do 1 or 2 things;

Freeze your CR reports. It is pretty easy and can be done online via EQ TU but not sure about EX(you might have to call). Once you remove the freeze, it is immediate though. So you have to want them that way lol.

the last thing you can do is unplug your computer / just joking but honestly thats what I need to do. But seriously you just have to want to do it. I know that sounds simple and stupid but its the truth. If you really want something, then you really try to do it. I want to garden just like I want to lose 20 lbs. But, unfortunately I can't manage to stick to either of them.

Re: Gardening Advice - How do you resist applying?

Anonymous — Thu, 13 Aug 2015 21:59:16 GMT

Last month was my first app month for unsecured cards since I started my rebuild a year ago. It ended up lasting all of 10 minutes, because I got pre-approvals on 2 of my top 5 targeted cards, and 2 was my limit. I've been less aggressive than I could have been on the credit front. One of the things that helps me be less aggressive is I don't see this process as just about my credit, I see it as about rebuilding my entire financial picture into something a lot more secure. Credit is great, but Cash is king and will always be king, so building a cash horde has been a key part of my process.

So what I do is I dig around, I find deals on savings/interest checking/CDs at various credit unions, and plot ways to get memberships if it's not easily available. The typical interest on a savings account today is laughable. But if you're diligent, you can find 4 and 5 percent yields, though they usually have all kinds of hoops you have to jump through to get them, but if you make a game out of it, are diligent, and think carefully about it, you can usually find a way to fulfill the hoop jumping requirements and setup a nice return on savings that would be hard to get even through a typical 5 year CD. I've found it often requires multiple accounts to get the best rates, because they often have limitations like "on up to $1000" so it's an ongoing process finding new places to save cash for optimal returns.

Doing this makes waiting on credit to age a lot easier for me personally and really it's a very complimentary activity. Good credit is optimized when you also have a good cash horde to draw on and a cash horde hits its maximum power when you have good credit to use with it.

Re: Gardening Advice - How do you resist applying?

SouthJamaica — Thu, 13 Aug 2015 22:06:57 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I'm new to myfico and my credit journey. Said to myself I was only going to apply to one card - applied to CapOne QS1 - got it 2000K CL. I didn't know anything about cards at the time and realized I would benefit from the rotating categories on a Discover It or Chase Freedom. Waited a month - applied for Chase Freedom - got it 1500 CL. Now I'm super tempted by other cards, I know its a bad move to make and I really don't need anymore per say. How do you stay in the garden with all the attractive fruit?

In my case, I never used to care about having credit cards or about having higher credit limits, so there was no temptation to resist. Once I got involved in the myFICO forums, then I started to care and began over-applying.

So in my case the best thing I could do would be stop coming here, at least for a year or so.

Re: Gardening Advice - How do you resist applying?

Anonymous — Thu, 13 Aug 2015 22:09:35 GMT

I resist because I have what I need and now need to manage them and use them wisely. I hope I can wait a year before apping so that my inquiries won't matter very much then see what is out there. It is worth waiting. You get higher credit limits and lower interest. That being said, if you want to, nothing is stopping you. You have to find your own way.

Re: Gardening Advice - How do you resist applying?

Anonymous — Thu, 13 Aug 2015 22:08:47 GMT

I keep my eyes on the prize. But when I do app, I go for the gold.

Re: Gardening Advice - How do you resist applying?

OmarGB9 — Thu, 13 Aug 2015 22:26:55 GMT

Watching the result of patient gardening combined with diligent debt reduction is a reward in and of itself. It's satisfying to see my scores grow and my lenders recognizing that.

Re: Gardening Advice - How do you resist applying?

kdm31091 — Thu, 13 Aug 2015 22:43:44 GMT

Stay away from the approvals section here. Use the cards you have, rack up the rewards, pay down/off the balances. Avoid temptation like Callandra said with simple logic. If we end up with too many cards, we just end up with $2 in rewards spread across 10 cards, which is pointless.

Keep it all in perspective too. Sometimes "extra" rewards can seem enticing but are not especially meaningful with certain spend. For example, my BCE earns 3% on groceries and I get 2% with my Double Cash. While 3% is more than 2% obviously, my actual spend at grocery stores that aren't BJ's/Target is only $100-$120 a month, so the BCE is earning me a whole extra $1 or $1.20 per month over what a Double Cash on that spend would. The point is that realistically, I don't need it. I keep it open for the occasional Amex offer, but reward wise, it doesn't give me any huge leap. Think this through before applying. With the cost of everything these days and the fact that $1.20 a month barely buys a candy bar, you may not need what you think you do.

Also it is rewarding to see inqs fall off and AAOA increase. You can monitor inqs falling off for free with Credit Karma, Credit Sesame etc. They use a different method of counting AAOA, AFAIK, but it's still useful to see that it is growing.