topic Re: What should I do next? in Rebuilding Your Credit

What should I do next?

ZRH — Wed, 29 Oct 2025 09:42:22 GMT

Here’s a snapshot of my current credit situation: Credit card: capital one quicksilver. In good standing. $285 of $300 balance Personal loan: DR Bank. In good standing. No Oates. $166 of $332 remaining. Opened in July Car loan: Global Lending Services: In good standing. Opened in August Closed credit card with a balance of $124 reporting. Several federal Student loans. In school status so I’m am not currently making payments. Has old lates from 2019. Early this year I paid off all but one charge off. The current charge off has been difficult to negotiate a reasonable rate, but I do plan to address this. My capital one card was $300 OVER the limit which I have chipped away at. Opened the personal loan of $300 and the auto loan out of necessity. I’ve also increased my income and built a small savings account. My score has moved from 543 to 611 on experian. My question is what order should I approach my current outstanding debts?

Re: What should I do next?

JoeRockhead — Wed, 29 Oct 2025 11:36:11 GMT

Maybe it's just me but I'm having a hard time figuring out who is owed what here, but here's what I think you're saying... with some questions.

Capital One QS, in good standing: what's the CL and what balance do you have on it?
DR Bank personal loan for $300... $285 balance remaining, is this correct
What has $166 of $332?
What credit card did you open in August that is now closed with a balance of $124? Was it charged off or?

Just a friendly tip, if you can use more of a numbered, or bullet list format (from the menu just above the text box you type in when you're writing a post) it would help clarify what you're trying to share and get you some more specific advice.

Re: What should I do next?

ZRH — Wed, 29 Oct 2025 12:39:42 GMT

Oh soo. My apologies for the formatting issues. I can’t seem to get the text to move to the next line.
* Cap one is $285 of $300 CL
* DR Bank. In good standing. No lates. $166 of $332 remaining. Opened in July
* Car loan: Global Lending Services: In good standing. Opened in August
* Charged off credit card with Lead bank. a balance of $124 reporting.

Re: What should I do next?

JoeRockhead — Wed, 29 Oct 2025 12:54:16 GMT

@ZRH wrote:
Oh soo. My apologies for the formatting issues. I can’t seem to get the text to move to the next line. * Cap one is $285 of $300 CL * DR Bank. In good standing. No lates. $166 of $332 remaining. Opened in July * Car loan: Global Lending Services: In good standing. Opened in August * Charged off credit card with Lead bank. a balance of $124 reporting.

I appreciate the efforts and this makes more sense. Others may chime in with their ideas but here's mine:

I'd first try to pay in full, or settle the charged off account to reflect a zero balance. This will stop them from continuing to report it monthly, and it will also stop it from negatively impacting your reported aggregate utilization. To Explain: Any time a revolving credit card is charged off the remaining balance (no matter how low) is still factored into your aggregate reported balances until it's paid to zero, but the old credit limit is not.
Next I would focus on getting that Cap One QS balance under control. Get it down to under 50% to start, then down to under 30%, and ultimately down to 5% reported utilization. Do all you can to keep it reporting no higher than that every month, then PIF by the due date to avoid interest charges, rinse and repeat every month. This will help your scores
Continue to pay your loans on time. Once your CC balances are under control, and whenever you can, pay extra to get the loan balances paid to zero.

Re: What should I do next?

Thomas_Thumb — Wed, 29 Oct 2025 22:19:53 GMT

Agree. Pay the charge off in full.

Then work at bringing reported balances on all CCs under 29%. After that, pay one card to $0 while making atleast minimum payment on the other card.

Ultimate goal should be a reported aggregate utilization (all cards combined) below 5%.

Note: it is important to allow a small statement balance (minimum $5) to report on one card. That balance should then be paid prior to due date to avoid interest penalties.

Re: What should I do next?

ZRH — Wed, 29 Oct 2025 23:18:40 GMT

Thank you both! I appreciate the help. I should be able to get this done by the end of November. Hoping to see a nice increase

Re: What should I do next?

1lifeisworthit — Thu, 30 Oct 2025 00:16:30 GMT

Your balance of the Capital One QuickSilver should be next.

You need a Statement Balance of $0.00 in order to get your grace period back.

So stop using your card right now for anything whatsoever. You want to pay it off, and on the Statement Date you'll get the trailing interest ready to accrue more interest. The moment the new Statement posts (on the Statement Date) go ahead and pay the new Statement Balance so that it does not accrue interest.

The reason I say to do this first is 1. because it is the most effective way to get ahead at this moment, both scorewise and financewise. and 2. because it is the easiest major debt drag to tackle.

Re: What should I do next?

RobertS2 — Wed, 19 Nov 2025 23:35:19 GMT

Go in order of interest rate, from highest to lowest. Good luck!