Discharged!

[cartwrna]

Filed 8/3/18, last date for objections was 10/29/18. Logged onto pacer a moment ago and order discharging debtor was entered at 5:05 am today 10/30/18!!! Excited to say the least. Won’t be closed for quite some time though as I’m buying back vehicle from trustee on payment plan that if I stuck to it would take a smooth 8 months, but hoping to pay off sooner :-)

So far I’ve gotten just a Cap 1 secured card. Will prob just work with this one and go from there. Had planned on reaffirming my mortgage, but never got the paperwork completed so assuming it’s included now..oh well I guess.

Any suggestions for me now?

[Anonymous]

Congratulations on your discharge!
I just retained an attorney for my Chapter 7 case so I’m still in the early stages of bankruptcy.
I think a secured credit card is a good idea. I know nothing about your financial situation or why you had to file and I’m not here to judge (I myself have to file because of poor decisions.) I’m just suggesting that it might be better to start with a super low limit and keep the utilization low. Like a $500 limit and never utilizing more than like $100 of it and not missing a single payment. Don’t pay it off in a month, just make the minimum payments. Credit scores are built around your ability to make payments.

[FireMedic1]

Cap1 likes heavy usage and PIF each month to start with. Dont carry a balance yet. Especially if its your only card. Dont go over your CL. As you get more cards up to 3 for best FICO scoring. Then follow the AZEO method. Space out your apps 3-6 months. No sprees. Slow and steady wins the race. I've said it many times. Use it as a debit card when you didnt have a CC. You can pay it bi-weekly. But PIF before each statement date. Rinse and repeat.

My signature is to show what can be done after BK, not to brag at all. Took me 3yrs and 2 months. You can get there if you play the game correctly.

[cartwrna]

Thanks for the suggestions guys! I already have a Cap 1 secured. Got it prior to my discharge, even though we burned them for a substantial amount in the bankruptcy (cards were charged off 2+ years ago though). I don’t plan on using credit really now. I’ve had my fair share of financed high end high dollar vehicles, and the payments were out of my style LOL. We have turned to buying newer salvaged vehicles from Copart in cash, and I rebuild them myself. Nice vehicles for us, while also flipping quite a few. Have done 12 this year :-) Already have a mortgage, so no need for one of those either. I make a decent enough income we can safely live on cash, while also building up savings.

I would like to just build it up over the years, with intentions of selling our current home, and moving up in 3-5 years. That’s about my only goal currently.

[cartwrna]

We were able to file bankruptcy chapter 7 solely because were a family of 4 in Iowa, and my wife doesn’t work. The flipped vehicles the trustee didn’t really meddle into much, aside from asking what I made from them and how the money was spent. Which has been going towards paying our mortgage off. Exemptions in Iowa for homestead are pretty high, and the income cutoff for chapter 7 based off a family of 4 in Iowa is pretty high.

[Anonymous]

It’s impossible for them to get burned on a secured card though, especially if you’ve already had a discharge. They're guaranteed their money if you stop paying.
The interest rate is probably ungodly though.

[Anonymous]

---

@Anonymous wrote:
Don’t pay it off in a month, just make the minimum payments. Credit scores are built around your ability to make payments.

---

This is completely false.

[Anonymous]

That’s what I’ve always been told.
I’ve never had one though so I could be wrong.

[Anonymous]

The truth in there is that you do need a very small amount of credit card debt to reflect on you credit report . . preferably on just one CC with a balance between $5 and 8.9% of that CC's credit limit. You can absolutely pay the bill in full after that however.

[blindambition]

Paying the minimum is a bad strategy. For one, you accrue interest. This delays paying off. All the while charging more.

This could flag as a risk to a conservative lender.

Also leading to higher utilization. Depending on balance, CL and other factors... this could actually ding your score.