I have a pretty complicated bankruptcy story.
I am now 34 years old and I just had my bankruptcy discharged a month ago. 6/23/2016 to be exact! I have had bad credit habits as long as I can remember. But I also remember a time when I had really good credit. Right after turning 18 I got my first car and credit cards. I remember the excitement and responsibility I felt when I got my first credit. I would sit down every month and reconcile my credit card statements, and I would pay my car payment EARLY!
You are a reflection of those you surround yourself with though. Shortly after getting all this wonderful credit I got with someone who was not the best influence for me. I started being late on some bills, no big deal, just 30 or 60 days. Then the things I wanted were more important than paying those bills. It was all downhill from there. They say that old habits die hard...I can attest that it took 15 years to kill mine! The bad influence has been gone for 8 and its still SO hard to get rid of those bad habits!
I even made progress about 2-3 years ago. I had a dismal 350 credit score (ouch I know) and was considering whether to file bankruptcy or dig myself out of the hole. I didn't have a lot of debt, just a lot of small accounts that I hadn't paid. So I decided to wait some out (several really old accounts were about to fall off and be past the SOL. The rest I would contact the creditors and make arrangements with. I did GOOD! My score went from a 350 to a 550 in a matter of 6-8 months. I even qualified for a brand new car with 0 down! Then the bad habits started to rear their head again. I went on a bit of a spending spree (charging every card to within 90% of their balances) and didn't really have the money for the payments. I was so daunted by my bills that I just gave up. A few months later, brand new car was gone. I now had 5-6 charged off collections on my report and life seemed dim. I thought I would never get myself out of the hole that I dug myself.
Then I met someone new. This person is a good influence. He has reformed me and brought me from despair to joy. The first thing about getting into a new relationship with bad credit is....it really weighs down the relationship. How do you explain to someone that you have such bad credit? How do you start to build a life together? But he was very understanding and we formulated a plan to fix things.
Step 1: File bankruptcy!
Bankruptcy is expensive, and this was one of the biggest deterrents to me filing in the first place. But together we came up with the money and hired a really great bankruptcy attorney. I filed and waited for the magic. Within a week or so I saw it start to happen. Credit Karma (which I hate the more I learn about credit and scores and free services) showed on my report one after another account being reported as IIB. Balances went from extraordinary to 0. And an amazing thing happened...the calls stopped. The letters stopped. When I did get the occasional call I would inform the caller that I had filed and give them my lawyer's number and they didn't call again!
Shortly after bankruptcy (after the 341 meeting of creditors) I was added to my (now husband's) credit cards as an Authorized User. This did wonders for my credit profile and score. I went from a 400 to a 500 almost overnight!
Once my 341 meeting was over I was ready to start this awesome and exciting journey. You can begin getting secured credit as soon as your 341 meeting is over, although some things want to see discharge before they'll approve you. I felt that feeling like I had when I was 18 and totally new to the process. I app'd and got approved for Capital One Secured with $99 down. I added an additional $200 to that card for a $400 limit! I also went to my local Credit Union and got a credit builder loan. If you have a credit union you should totally enquire about it. It's like a regular secured loan, but the bank fronts the money. They deposit the money into a savings account, which is blocked. You make payments and then after all payments are met you get your money. You can even pay a little extra and get your money released as soon as you make payments. (For $1.92 a month my $90 payment is available as soon as I make it. The payment frees up the $90 from the blocked account.) I also did a traditional $1000 secured loan at my bank.
I also needed a new car. I travel for work and my 2007 junker just wasn't cutting it! About a week before my discharge was set to take place I started inquiring. I got pre approvals (with condition of discharge before final approval) before my BK was even discharged. I went the day after my discharge with paperwork in hand and drove away with a brand new car courtesy of Ally with $500 down.
I haven't app'd for any cards since my Capital One. And my options are kind of limited as well. I burned Credit One, First Premiere, and Merrick pretty badly in my BK. So I have heard great things about Barclay. App'd for their Rewards card two days ago. Got the denial and immediately recon'd. Was told that I needed more credit lines. The nice rep on the phone said that she saw the AU accounts but they needed to see at least 3-4 TL's in my name before they'll approve. So the last couple days I've been scrambling to figure out who I could add to get those additional TL's. Came across Milestone. It's one of those really expensive cards ($75 fee for first year) but I figured; it adds a TL, I can just pay the $75 and never use the card, and it's not really that expensive as long as I don't keep a balance. App'd and got approved for $300 limit. It came in today. I figure I can keep it for a year and cancel just before fee next year! App'd for Cap 1 QS but they wouldn't even take the app because I got my Secured less than 6 months ago (Another 3 months and I can app for that I'd love to have one of those!)
Then the big one. I was trying to figure out another TL to get me to that magic number. Was looking through the joint cards and came across one I'd forgotten about. Husband has a Kohl's Charge. I figured, why not, it can't hurt! App'd this morning and got approved for $300. Not only do I get the TL, but I LOVE the Kohl's charge! I have wanted one of these for YEARS! Finally got it. Now to garden for a while and in a few months I'll App for the QS and Barclays!
Now to keep my good habits going and get myself back on track. I've fallen behind before but with the husband's help and my willpower I WILL stay on the straight and narrow this time. We have a goal of getting a house just after the 2 yr mark (the soonest FHA will approve) and that's my end goal right now!
Credit Builder-$1000|Secured Loan-$1000|Cap 1 Secured-$400|Milestone-$300|Kohl's-$300|Ally Auto-$17000
BK7 filed 3/23/2016 DC 6/20/2016
Current Credit
Ally Auto-$17000| Credit Builder Loan-$1000| Secured Loan-$1000| Cap 1 Secured-$400| Kohl's-$300| Milestone-$300| Gettington/Webbank-$500
AU- Chase Freedom-$500| Cap 1 QS-$500| Amex-$2000| Walmart-$910| Target Card-$300| Kohl's-$300| Credit 1-$300
