topic Re: Garden Club Thread - February 2017 in Credit Cards

Garden Club Thread - February 2017

UncleB — Wed, 01 Feb 2017 09:16:08 GMT

Welcome, Garden Club Members!

Welcome all new GCers, returning GCers and old timers to our little island of "No Credit Applications".

What is gardening? Quite simply, it involves refraining from applying for new credit or seeking CLIs that require hard pulls. Soft pulls CLIs, however, are not only acceptable, but are encouraged. The idea is to allow one's current trade lines to grow and mature, waiting for inquiries to age or fall off, and possibly waiting for "baddies" to be removed/age off. During this time, one tends to one's current accounts and watches their AAoA grow and the new credit ding fade. Here we socialize, commiserate and support each other while waiting for baddies to fall off, new accounts and/or inq's age or just want a place to hang out to get away from the hustle and bustle of credit card talk.

So, if you're at the stage of your credit journey where you're ready to enter the garden, please come and join us. You may pick up your complimentary watering can and garden gloves by the front door -- you can even choose your favorite color! We're proud to offer a well appointed clubhouse. There is a snack table set up. You'll always find camaraderie available here as you work towards your gardening goals.

Help yourself to our drinks and appetizers. Flat-breads, sliders, pizza, buffalo wings, grilled zucchini, kale salads, pecan and apple pie Ala mode. There's also a nice selection of cold beers. Once again, please feel free to bring anything you'd like to add to the festivities. And, in the corner diagonally across from the front door, there is a fully stocked bar, along with a wide selection of soft drinks. If needed, there are some anti-itch medications stocked in our supply cabinet near the door -- Lanacaine, Benadryl, etc. If you need to place your reports in the deep freeze, we also have a freezer, located next to the bar, so go ahead and throw your reports in!

So come on in and make yourself comfortable. Make a gardening plan and commit to sticking with it! Are you planning to wait six months before applying for additional credit? A year? Until the last of your baddies drop off? Whatever your goal, we're here to support you. If you feel the "app-itch" coming on, let us know and we'll try to help you through it.

Now, if you happen to leave the garden prematurely, that's your decision and we respect that. You are always welcome to come back, pick up your gardening tools and start over again. But please, celebrate any approvals and the discussion of which credit card to app for on another thread. While we are happy with members’ success stories, we really do want to keep this threads focus and tone to be consistent with gardening efforts. You are certainly welcome to celebrate SP CLIs in this thread, as they do not involve inq's or apps for new credit.

GARDEN CLUB CHALLENGE AND RECOGNITIONS:

Garden Club Challenge: Pick a firm date for staying in the garden and post it in your siggy!
Garden Club recognition levels: To qualify, your reports must contain:
No new tradelines of any type on one's accounts (this includes any backdated account, as they are STILL new "seedlings").
No HPs for anything that would allow for the possibility of a new tradeline being issued or increasing the CL of an existing tradeline.

*The Garden Club community recognizes that certain inquiries are necessary for factors beyond those listed above. Therefore, Hard Pulls/Inquiries for the following bona fide reasons are exempt but not limited to: Opening checking/savings accounts (so long as no line of credit is being opened in addition to these accounts), Employment Applications, Apartment Rentals, Utilities and other such services. These are not considered to be applications for credit per se. Also, for those who are seeking a new mortgage or refinancing an existing one, we understand that your lender will pull your CRs multiple times before closing. For those GC'ers, the first hp will set your clock, not the subsequent pulls. However, if you are simply rate shopping, then the normal hp rules apply.

You will be able to add the following to your siggy if you have been abiding by the above for the following time periods...

Less than 1 month - seedling
1 month - bronze spade
3 months - silver spade
6 months - gold spade
9 months - palladium spade
12 months - platinum spade
15 months - ruby spade
18 months - emerald spade
21 months - sapphire spade
24 months or more - diamond spade

Please note: recognition levels reset once you add an account or incur a HP. We recognize that there may be very good reasons for "leaving the garden," and we respect whatever thoughtful decisions members make. As stated previously, members are always welcome to come back, grab their gloves and start gardening once more.

To ensure that your graphic comes out properly on your siggy, please be certain that it has been added as the very first line of code.

Seedling:

<img src="http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/image/serverpage/image-id/2760iB9166C1A493A3CBC" title="Seedling Garden Club Member" border="0" width="50" height="67" align="right">

Bronze:

<img src="http://i.imgur.com/LEYWe.png" border="0" title="Bronze Garden Club Member" width="40" height="40" align="right">

SIlver:

<img src="http://i.imgur.com/Gfc4B.png" border="0" title="Silver Garden Club Member" width="40" height="40" align="right">

Gold:

<img src="http://i.imgur.com/24xvV.png" border="0" title="Gold Garden Club Member" width="40" height="40" align="right">

Palladium:

<img src="http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/image/serverpage/image-id/5761iE36E284CEECEA414" title="Palladium Garden Club Member" border="0" width="40" height="40" align="right">

Platinum:

<img src="http://i.imgur.com/vVRv5.png" border="0" alt="" title="Platinum Garden Club Member" width="120" height="80" align="right" />

Ruby:

<img src="http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/image/serverpage/image-id/5625i09098E9833D7A4B2" border="0" title="Ruby Garden Club Member" width="40" height="40" align="right">

Emerald:

<img src="http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/image/serverpage/image-id/5623i698C4BF1F9D77284" border="0" width="40" title="Emerald Garden Club Member" height="40" align="right">

Sapphire:

<img src="http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/image/serverpage/image-id/5627iA714E0C3C98AD3FD" border="0" width="40" title="Sapphire Garden Club Member" height="40" align="right">

Diamond:

<img src="http://i.imgur.com/40nIa.png" border="0" alt="" title="Diamond Garden Club Member" width="40" height="40" align="right" />

So, please feel free to come on in and share your gardening progress. If you're new or returning, what are your goals? If you've been here for a while, how are things going? Let's all mingle, and support each other in our respective gardening efforts!

Just a reminder, if you are new to the forum, you may not be able to add your seedling to your profile. Send any mod a PM and we'll add it for you You can also use the "Report Inappropriate Content" function on the post to notify a Moderator, but indicate that you need __________ spade. (seedling, bronze, etc.)

Re: Garden Club Thread - February 2017

Anonymous — Wed, 01 Feb 2017 09:19:32 GMT

Six months gardening!!

Re: Garden Club Thread - February 2017

UncleB — Wed, 01 Feb 2017 09:20:00 GMT

Happy February, everybody!

After my acquisitions last month I plan (and need) to garden strong for a while... happy to be here!

Re: Garden Club Thread - February 2017

Discover2016 — Wed, 01 Feb 2017 09:37:17 GMT

Earned my platinum!! One year gardening!

Re: Garden Club Thread - February 2017

Anonymous — Wed, 01 Feb 2017 09:46:46 GMT

February 28, 2017 = 5 months

Re: Garden Club Thread - February 2017

Anonymous — Wed, 01 Feb 2017 10:02:08 GMT

UncleB now this is taking "the Bull By The Horns"! Nice job. As for February 2017 ... need to stay in the garden and get my scores up and keep hard inquiries to zero. Also, saving myself for the USAA Limitless Cash Back Visa at 2.5%.

Re: Garden Club Thread - February 2017

coldnmn — Wed, 01 Feb 2017 10:09:13 GMT

Checking in for March! Still gardening strong and looking forward to Spring!

Re: Garden Club Thread - February 2017

nrm — Wed, 01 Feb 2017 10:24:01 GMT

Check in for 2017.

Re: Garden Club Thread - February 2017

sarge12 — Wed, 01 Feb 2017 11:32:49 GMT

Checking in for February....10 more days till I get a golden spade. Silver one is worn out.

Re: Garden Club Thread - February 2017

Anonymous — Wed, 01 Feb 2017 11:36:17 GMT

Checking in for February. 6 months gardening strong..

Re: Garden Club Thread - February 2017

Anonymous — Wed, 01 Feb 2017 11:51:51 GMT

happy february everyone! been in the garden for a few weeks already, and I never thought it would be this hard haha

Re: Garden Club Thread - February 2017

EdMan63 — Wed, 01 Feb 2017 12:12:10 GMT

Happy Feb everyone. I'm happy and a bit upset this morning. Happy my EX went up 17 pts this morning but mad that ADT did a double pull on my EQ yesterday for a security system for our home. I have a fraud alert so the first time didn't go through while I'm on the phone with the guy. He say let me talk with my Mgr and have you verify your info. Comes back and says congrats. Got an alert from EQ this morn and 2 pulls. Not off to a good start with them. Any suggestions?

Re: Garden Club Thread - February 2017

Saleen099 — Wed, 01 Feb 2017 12:18:05 GMT

Good Morning Everyone!!!!!!

Day 1 of 365.

Re: Garden Club Thread - February 2017

Steelersboy — Wed, 01 Feb 2017 13:06:26 GMT

Almost as hard as staying away from fast food!

Re: Garden Club Thread - February 2017

Anonymous — Wed, 01 Feb 2017 14:03:39 GMT

Checking in for Feb. I am still in my first month and it is hard. I don't know how some of you do a year or longer haha

Re: Garden Club Thread - February 2017

CreditMagic7 — Wed, 01 Feb 2017 14:07:22 GMT

Checking in for February as a RESET. Restarting for another 6 month run.

Popped out for a new one to replace the US Bank card. Choice was FNBO.

No others of interest except maybe for adding a 2nd Chase.

Re: Garden Club Thread - February 2017

Anonymous — Wed, 01 Feb 2017 14:08:39 GMT

Passed the 2+ months mark...Checking in

Re: Garden Club Thread - February 2017

Anonymous — Wed, 01 Feb 2017 19:02:54 GMT

Good Morining, FICO Friends! Boy, it's hard to make the first page when you live on the West Coast! In any case. Happy February! I am always glad to get through January. Not much to report on the credit front, just waiting for scores to go up after a December/January slump. I hope I can still make 700s by the middle of November, which will be my BK DC two year anniversary.

Jan 1, FICO 8 scores were EQ 685, TU 649, EX 680

Today, FICO 8 scores are EQ 684, TU 650, EX 679!!!!

Edited to reflect an update I just got from Experian... +26 points...😀

As I said in the January thread, DH and I have decided to put some money into our older SUV that I love instead of getting a new auto loan. Last month saw us get it checked because we could here a tapping noise from the engines area. We ended up just having to get a tune up, changed wires, plugs, because one of the plugs had broken and was causing the tapping...big relief! Also, they found that the rediator hoses needed to be replaced, and replaced the oil lines which took care of a nagging oil leak that we asked them to find for us. This month will see us replace the muffler (it's been rattling at idle) and piping. We are just addressing issues that are known problems. We had the brakes done last year, and the transmission replaced a couple years ago. It will be in pretty good shape! The aesthetics will come later. Sorry to talk cars, but I thought since that is a big thing keeping me in the garden, it is fair game, plus some might find the journey interesting!

Re: Garden Club Thread - February 2017

Blackswizz750 — Wed, 01 Feb 2017 14:43:03 GMT

Checking in for February. Last month was good as I officially joined NFCU and Penfed. I got a CLI with my Wally world card and now want to work letting INQs fall off my car loan in July 2015 and work on some baddies. Still enjoying my Colombian coffee as it keeps me focus. I hope everyone is doing fine.

Re: Garden Club Thread - February 2017

FroggieMom — Wed, 01 Feb 2017 15:18:47 GMT

Checking in for February! Should be a busy month for me outside of the MF world to keep any temptations away. I'll re-earn my bronze spade on the 10th after dipping out last month to secure the Citi DP, got my BT check ready to deposit in my acct to pay off RBFCU and start my clock to paying off that balance Don't expect any major changes that would require me leaving, and will be happy to see my goal of 750+ on all 3 CR soon once my util % drops below 10%.