topic Re: I am so lost.. Where do I start in Rebuilding Your Credit

I am so lost.. Where do I start

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Dec 2015 19:47:24 GMT

I'd like to say that for being in my mid 20's I feel plain stupid to what I am or am not doing to my Credit. Last week I went to a Nissan dealership where my brother works (As a Service writer, not sales) to attempt to buy a 2014 Nissan Rouge with 23,000 Miles. I had $2000 to put down. I was denied, Capital One would pick me up if I had $6200 to put down. (I did not) We then went the route of trying to buy a brand new 2015 Nissan Sentra - Again. Denied.

Almost 3 years ago (3 years in February) I was approved for a 2012 Dodge Avenger with a credit score of 520 ( at 21% Interest I may add and MORE collections on my account then now..) I walked away from that deal because of the interest rate ( I don't know what I was expecting) and realized that after that visit at that dealership I had 17 Credit Inquires on my credit report JUST from that dealership. I thought it was all supposed to count as 1?

I digress...

I have attached two pages of my credit report (I will upload the rest if needed)
But can someone help me? Where do I start? What do I do?
I've paid off 2 collections and I'm in the process of paying off another, but I was told to not pay them unless it's "Pay for Delete" which I know collections companies don't do, only the original creditor can..

I'm just overwhelmed as to how "Dirty" my credit report looks, I have literally almost no credit and the credit I do/did have - well I clearly wasn't the brightest in my Late teens/early twenties. I have no idea what I'm looking at or where to start.. (Besdies paying down my current credit cards..Thanks Christmas)

At this point I'm so ashamed at the mess that is my credit report I just want some guidance

Page 1 of Credit Report

Page 2 of Credit Report
(I suppose I should explain that I just graduated this Month - Starting to pay on them in January - Is there anyway to shove all the loans together or into 2, so it doesn't look like so many!?)

Re: I am so lost.. Where do I start

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Dec 2015 20:03:49 GMT

Hang in there bud, you will get a lot of help here. Pay attention..

Re: I am so lost.. Where do I start

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Dec 2015 20:07:21 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Hang in there bud, you will get a lot of help here. Pay attention..

I'm tryin'. My father always told me I'm trying to jump from the puddle to ocean without first learning how to swim.. *sigh*

Re: I am so lost.. Where do I start

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Dec 2015 20:27:08 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I'd like to say that for being in my mid 20's I feel plain stupid to what I am or am not doing to my Credit. Last week I went to a Nissan dealership where my brother works (As a Service writer, not sales) to attempt to buy a 2014 Nissan Rouge with 23,000 Miles. I had $2000 to put down. I was denied, Capital One would pick me up if I had $6200 to put down. (I did not) We then went the route of trying to buy a brand new 2015 Nissan Sentra - Again. Denied.

Almost 3 years ago (3 years in February) I was approved for a 2012 Dodge Avenger with a credit score of 520 ( at 21% Interest I may add and MORE collections on my account then now..) I walked away from that deal because of the interest rate ( I don't know what I was expecting) and realized that after that visit at that dealership I had 17 Credit Inquires on my credit report JUST from that dealership. I thought it was all supposed to count as 1? They are scored as one, but still are listed individually.

I digress...

I have attached two pages of my credit report (I will upload the rest if needed)
But can someone help me? Where do I start? What do I do?
I've paid off 2 collections and I'm in the process of paying off another, but I was told to not pay them unless it's "Pay for Delete" which I know collections companies don't do, only the original creditor can.. CA most certainly can delete their own reports - they just can't delete the OC reports.

I'm just overwhelmed as to how "Dirty" my credit report looks, I have literally almost no credit and the credit I do/did have - well I clearly wasn't the brightest in my Late teens/early twenties. I have no idea what I'm looking at or where to start.. (Besdies paying down my current credit cards..Thanks Christmas)

At this point I'm so ashamed at the mess that is my credit report I just want some guidance Nothing to be ashamed of - we all make mistakes and some of us have taken much, much longer to get to that "come to Jesus" moment. I'm finally getting my act together after 52 years.

Page 1 of Credit Report

Page 2 of Credit Report
(I suppose I should explain that I just graduated this Month - Starting to pay on them in January - Is there anyway to shove all the loans together or into 2, so it doesn't look like so many!?) If they are current and positive you don't want that. The multiple tradelines will serve to "widen" your AAoA base in the future so new accounts have less of an affect on AAoA.

Well, right off the bat - not only are your balances high, at 70%, those credit card charge offs are killing your scores. The quickest path to points is 1) paying your current balances down to one card less than 30%, 2) Settling those charge offs so they are reporting a $0 balances, and 3) get one more credit card - I would suggest a secured card from SDFCU. You can get one with a soft pull so it won't hit you for another inquiry. If you have problems joining SDFCU (they have weird ID "score" that some people seem to have probs with) then go with Open Sky, its a soft pull as well.

Re: I am so lost.. Where do I start

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Dec 2015 20:59:16 GMT

Hey there, I am also in my mid 20s please reconsider getting a car at the moment. Not knowing your situation you may in fact need a car (if not stick to what you have), but I can assure you that a low mileage 5-15 year old car will benefit you more financially in the long run.

As for your credit you have nothing to feel bad about everyone has to start somewhere! My wife had a simular situation only months ago, although she had never had a credit card. In fact you should be proud that you are starting this journey at such a young age. (Speaking of which start saving for retirement now, compound interest is a game changer).

While I can’t pull up your uploaded files with my device, in my understanding the number of loans does not matter much if at all, but the payment history does! If they are student loans, make sure you keep them current or it will bite you down the road!!!!!! Other important things that have a high impact on your credit score is the amount of available credit that you use on your cards.

The way pay for delete has played out for me is that a Collection Company can delete any collection they have placed on your reports. These companies are often very rude, nasty, and will hang up on you repeatedly. The best strategy is to always try to deal directly with the original lender whenever possible. The original lender also has the power to tell collection companies to remove anything they have on your reports.

Keep your head up and take solace that you are attacking this head on relatively early in your life.

Re: I am so lost.. Where do I start

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Dec 2015 21:13:10 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Hey there, I am also in my mid 20s please reconsider getting a car at the moment. Not knowing your situation you may in fact need a car (if not stick to what you have), but I can assure you that a low mileage 5-15 year old car will benefit you more financially in the long run. ((My current car is 16 years old but only have 110K Miles. Even though every now and then I have to throw $200-$300 at it, it's far from being dead..))

As for your credit you have nothing to feel bad about everyone has to start somewhere! My wife had a simular situation only months ago, although she had never had a credit card. In fact you should be proud that you are starting this journey at such a young age. (Speaking of which start saving for retirement now, compound interest is a game changer).((I've actually been saving for my Retirement for about 3 years now , My current job also carries a pension.. At least I'm doing something right))

While I can’t pull up your uploaded files with my device, in my understanding the number of loans does not matter much if at all, but the payment history does! If they are student loans, make sure you keep them current or it will bite you down the road!!!!!! Other important things that have a high impact on your credit score is the amount of available credit that you use on your cards.

The way pay for delete has played out for me is that a Collection Company can delete any collection they have placed on your reports. These companies are often very rude, nasty, and will hang up on you repeatedly. The best strategy is to always try to deal directly with the original lender whenever possible. The original lender also has the power to tell collection companies to remove anything they have on your reports. ((I figured I would either try to send letters to the CA's that I have paid off and ask them to remove it, or maybe a GW Letter?))

Keep your head up and take solace that you are attacking this head on relatively early in your life. (( Thank you very much )))

Re: I am so lost.. Where do I start

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Dec 2015 21:16:45 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Hey there, I am also in my mid 20s please reconsider getting a car at the moment. Not knowing your situation you may in fact need a car (if not stick to what you have), but I can assure you that a low mileage 5-15 year old car will benefit you more financially in the long run.

As for your credit you have nothing to feel bad about everyone has to start somewhere! My wife had a simular situation only months ago, although she had never had a credit card. In fact you should be proud that you are starting this journey at such a young age. (Speaking of which start saving for retirement now, compound interest is a game changer). Oh, hell yeah. I wish I had not been stupid and cashed out my investment funds I had when I got out of the Navy in 1989 - stupid me thought I needed to buy a car with it.... If I had just let that $2500 ride I'd be sitting pretty right now.

While I can’t pull up your uploaded files with my device, in my understanding the number of loans does not matter much if at all, but the payment history does! If they are student loans, make sure you keep them current or it will bite you down the road!!!!!! Other important things that have a high impact on your credit score is the amount of available credit that you use on your cards.

The way pay for delete has played out for me is that a Collection Company can delete any collection they have placed on your reports. These companies are often very rude, nasty, and will hang up on you repeatedly. The best strategy is to always try to deal directly with the original lender whenever possible. The original lender also has the power to tell collection companies to remove anything they have on your reports.

Keep your head up and take solace that you are attacking this head on relatively early in your life.

Re: I am so lost.. Where do I start

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Dec 2015 21:23:20 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
.....
They are scored as one, but still are listed individually. (I was unaware of that! Thank you!)

..... I know collections companies don't do, only the original creditor can.. CA most certainly can delete their own reports - they just can't delete the OC reports. ((What are the chances though - I suppose is the real question, so I try to ask them to delete (The ones I have paid) or ask them via GW letter to the OC?))

At this point I'm so ashamed at the mess that is my credit report I just want some guidance Nothing to be ashamed of - we all make mistakes and some of us have taken much, much longer to get to that "come to Jesus" moment. I'm finally getting my act together after 52 years. ((Thanks ))

Page 1 of Credit Report

Page 2 of Credit Report
(I suppose I should explain that I just graduated this Month - Starting to pay on them in January - Is there anyway to shove all the loans together or into 2, so it doesn't look like so many!?) If they are current and positive you don't want that. The multiple tradelines will serve to "widen" your AAoA base in the future so new accounts have less of an affect on AAoA.
Well, right off the bat - not only are your balances high, at 70%, those credit card charge offs are killing your scores. ((Paying these off between this month and January)) The quickest path to points is 1) paying your current balances down to one card less than 30%, 2) Settling those charge offs so they are reporting a $0 balances, ((Some of these were paid off via a CA, do I write a letter to the OC?? )) and 3) get one more credit card - I would suggest a secured card from SDFCU. You can get one with a soft pull so it won't hit you for another inquiry. If you have problems joining SDFCU (they have weird ID "score" that some people seem to have probs with) then go with Open Sky, its a soft pull as well.

Re: I am so lost.. Where do I start

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Dec 2015 21:29:13 GMT

Perfect, keep the car you have and buy your next one in cash with the money you save from not having a new monthly payment!

Super proud of you on the retirement front and I am jealous of that pension! What brokerage firm manages your retirement funds, and what kind of plan are you doing IRA, Roth IRA, 401k, 403b…

Not sure if that would be the best route on the collection, I am far from an expert there. One thing I can tell you about collection companies is to NEVER EVER give them routing information for your bank account. I have heard horror stories, if you can make the payment with a credit card.

Re: I am so lost.. Where do I start

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Dec 2015 21:36:20 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Perfect, keep the car you have and buy your next one in cash with the money you save from not having a new monthly payment!

Super proud of you on the retirement front and I am jealous of that pension! What brokerage firm manages your retirement funds, and what kind of plan are you doing IRA, Roth IRA, 401k, 403b…

Not sure if that would be the best route on the collection, I am far from an expert there. One thing I can tell you about collection companies is to NEVER EVER give them routing information for your bank account. I have heard horror stories, if you can make the payment with a credit card.

Nationwide has my retirement under a 457. I'm throwing in about $100 a pay period in there. My current position gets a step raise every year and a 3% Union raise every year. So I figured when I hit 30 i'll increase the amount to $200 every pay period (more if I can afford to do so). I just remember the Nationwide guy saying "I've never had someone say "I wish i didn't save this much" when they go to retire" and that statement has stayed in my head since that day. I don't want to retire and go "uhm..what now?"

I read some of those horror stories, I wish I would have found this site long before I had paid off many of my collections. I've been lucky enough to not have anything bad happen.. (yet) But, like I said - no clue how to start cleaning them up. Do I contact the CA's or the OC's do I call them? write a letter? EEP!