My rebuilding so far.. I'm staying hopeful

[cazz]

Hello everyone!! I am excited about my new journey. I was discharged on January 12th and case shows closed on January 27th. I have not been able to get any credit cards except for secured and i dont want secured so I will just hold out a little longer. I was a little discouraged because my friend and I went through bk together and she was discharged before me and her scores are higher by almost 100 points. I'm at a 557 trans. and 542 equifax and she is in her 650's. I know everyones situation is different but ours was pretty similar and she got a cap one 1000 cl on her day of discharge so of course I was wondering why wasn't mine the same but I am staying hopeful and I am going to take my time and try not to rush things. I bought a car 2015 chrysler 200 on Jan 28th and I love it!!!! so i know that will help my score once it starts reporting. I have a feeling that good things are yet to come so I'm staying positive.

I did have a question for you guys. I was wondering if I am added to my moms credit one cc as an authorized user will that help my credit score? She is currently rebuilding and she wouldnt want to keep the card with her. (she isnt good with keeping the cc utiil low lol) So i would keep both cards but she does have a high util on that card so i wanted to know if the good would outweigh the bad. That way after paying it down and keeping the card below 10% util I would then have a better credit score to get my own cc.   Any information would help

[6speed8]

I started off 2015 with my numbers around 500. Besides my bad debt, I had a $50,000 IRS lien because I was being treated as the perpetrator of tax refund fraud rather than the victim - long story but that was removed in late January. Bankruptcy filed February 11th. By the 541 meeting in April, my scores were up to 575-600 just with the lien removed. Discharge was June 10th and I was expecting a 100 point drop. Four days after discharge, my numbers all went UP to 60s with 2 of the 3. Equifax always seem to be the lowest. So yeah, they're rhyme and reason is hard to understand lol.

As for being an authorized userf, I'd say that's a NO unless it's a joint account. Being a user just means mom is letting you charge with it but she solely is responsible for the debt.

[Anonymous]

I disagree with the authorized user advice. My BK7 was discharged 3/12/2016. I have been trying like crazy to do anything to get my score ready to buy a home. I asked my dad to add me to one of his credit cards as an au he added me to a long exsisting card with a 10k credit line and  5%usage. I saw 6 to 9 points added to all of my fico scores due to the new credit line. I know theses arent huge numbers but there is no doubt it can help your score. After a BK any point gain are a victory and bring you one step closer to getting better credit cards and loans.

[Anonymous]

I would say hold out a little longer and let the auto loan bump up your scores.   If you are managing without an unsecured card what would getting on your mom's do for you?   Is there a reason that you want to bump it up quickly?  Are you trying to get another loan quickly or do you just want an unsecured card?   If you don't need to "use" your credit right away understand that this is a marathon to better scores and not sprint.  If your mom is not good at keep her utilization low then I would not risk it.  Any blip of a missed or forgotten payment can hurt you.  When I was in BK I learned to live within my means and not off of credit card's high interest.   I would recommend that for anyone.  PIF. The only reason I got credit cards after my BK is that I need to get my scores up for auto loan.  Otherwise I wouldn't have them but that is my situation and everyone is different.  Keep the course things do get better as long as you don't go down the same roads that put you in BK.   

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I disagree with the authorized user advice. My BK7 was discharged 3/12/2016. I have been trying like crazy to do anything to get my score ready to buy a home. I asked my dad to add me to one of his credit cards as an au he added me to a long exsisting card with a 10k credit line and  5%usage. I saw 6 to 9 points added to all of my fico scores due to the new credit line. I know theses arent huge numbers but there is no doubt it can help your score. After a BK any point gain are a victory and bring you one step closer to getting better credit cards and loans.

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I'm not a credit expert but I'm guessing your dad probably has pretty good credit and the fact that he has had his card for a long time makes the difference.  The original poster stated that their mom is credit building too.  That may not carry the same weight on the credit scores.  

[Anonymous]

One of the big traps we can get into is comparing to others. Try not to do that. Do your rebuild. Your friend is going to be different than you in a lot of ways. Determine what you want and need and proceed from there. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

truer words were never spoke. The journey to better credit is a confuseing one, im glad there are alot of good, smart, helpful people here. Too many times in the last two years ive found myself comparing my credit score to others and wondering why there scores were lowwer than mine and they were being approved for better cards then me. I really should have just been more focused on my own rebuilding plan and my own credit situation not what others were getting. Again back to the AU question I agree if the account is not aged at all the benifits would be low also if the debt is over 30% at the time of reporting that might also be negitive. If you have no history thou and the card can be kept below 30% uti and paid on time I have to beleave it would show some benefit, compared to nothing. You can be removed as a AU at any time and most people say the credit history can be removed from your file if your no longer an AU on a card. No one can gaurantee you what will happen for sure with your score by being add as a AU but i could lose its benefits if mismanged so if you think it might be mismanaged then maybe you should not do it. I have found that fico really doesnt put much weight on being an AU at least not like they used to, its partial return compared to being a co borrower.or having your own card.

[Shooting-For-800]

Get a capital one card and one or two store cards (walmart, amazon) and use them and pay them off WEEKLY.

3 months later apply for another Cap One card.

6 months later apply for Barclays card.

Use and pay weekly.  

Keep balances under 10% by the time each CC statement is cut.

I am less than two years out of Ch7.  See below.

Hang in there.  It gets better!