One year progress report after DC. Wish I filed sooner!

[masscredit]

A few days ago marked one year since my CH7 DC. I'm very glad I did it and should have listened to people when they told me to do it sooner (I put it off for a year).

My scores have rebounded very nicely. I jumped the gun and started rebuilding a couple weeks after the creditor meeting. I went with a few secured cards (SDFCU - $6500, TD Bank - $5000, Andrews - $3000 and Open Sky - $3000). I also opened a $1500 SSL at Andrews. My scores went from the high 400s/low 500s at the end of April '22 to these on May 31st (before DC) -

EQ - 628

TU - 552

EX - 568 

Since then I added two Cap 1 cards (Savor and have a QuickSilver arriving in the mail today). I also accepted an Ally offer for $2500. That recieved an auto-CLI to $2800 after 6 months (my first CLI since the DC). And accepted a pre-approved offer from Mercury for a Visa with a $5000 SL. My TD Bank card graduated after 6 months. I passed the one year review point for SDFCU. They didn't graduate that card so I have to wait until next May to see if it happens then. Quick note about that card, it won't graduate if the secured limit is over $5000. I had to back it down by $1500 to make it eligible. 

Andrews and Open Sky won't graduate. I'll hang onto those until I get a couple more cards with healthy limits. I'm going to hang in the garden until my AAoA is over a year.

Current scores when I checked June 21st -

EQ - 697 

TU - 665 

EX - 672 

I follow AZEO most months. Once in awhile I'll let balances post on random cards or, like a few months ago, I let a few post them PIF. The card that usually reports a balance is my daily driver that I use for house/living expenses. I pay that down to a couple hundred dollars a few days before the statement closes. 

So if you are on the fence, just do it! It's a relief and you can get back to having credit that can be managed responsibly soon after.

[BigBS]

Congrats on the rebuild and continue with what was been working and see continued progress!

[Creditwiser]

Congrats on your post DC success. You're definitely making progress. As you mentioned, time to Garden and that can be a challenge when you're seeing good progress.  Be patient and things will go your way !

[FireMedic1]

Good job out of the gate. Now its time to chill. No more apps. Keep appying in the 600's. you'll stay in the 600's. Let it age and join the 700 club. Then bigger and better things will happen with possibly lower APR's. Take the rest of the year off. Garden time. More is not better. Dont try and do what took me 7yrs in 1 yr. Enjoy what you got now. Like wine. You know the rest.

[Brian_Earl_Spilner]

I didn't file because of my pride. Seriously one of the dumbest things I've ever done (not done). I suffered so much longer than I needed to. 

[masscredit]

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@FireMedic1 wrote:

Good job out of the gate. Now its time to chill. No more apps. Keep appying in the 600's. you'll stay in the 600's. Let it age and join the 700 club. Then bigger and better things will happen with possibly lower APR's. Take the rest of the year off. Garden time. More is not better. Dont try and do what took me 7yrs in 1 yr. Enjoy what you got now. Like wine. You know the rest.

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This right here!!! I stepped out of the garden when I got courious to see if the Cap1 pre-qualification site would show me anything. Then I took the offer. I check Discover once in awhile. I burned them on 2 cards so it will probably be years before they let me back into the family. I can't even get a secured card from them. And I keep trying for the Apple card (I live Apple). Nothing there either. I was looking at my card list as I updated it for the Quick Silver card that I just activiated. It's been a year and I have 8 cards with decent limits. I need to build a wall around the garden and keep my ass in there! And that's what I'm going to do. Nothing until this time next year at the earliest. That will be 2 years since DC. My AAoA should be over a year across the board and maybe my 08 scores will be creeping over 700. Now I'm accountable to everyone who reads this. 

[masscredit]

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@Brian_Earl_Spilner wrote:

I didn't file because of my pride. Seriously one of the dumbest things I've ever done (not done). I suffered so much longer than I needed to. 

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I just keep putting it off. Thought the process would be much worst than it was. 

Something I forgot to suggest in my first post, interview at least 3-5 attorneys. A lot of them do it over the phone. Have a list of questions and see what each one says. Take notes. Also, go with your gut. The first one I interviewed has offices all over the area. I saw him in this office which was big with high ceilings, big furniture and an impressive wall library filled with books. He told me there was no way I'd be able to get a CH7 to go through. He said they'd toss it back to be converted to a 13. On the outside it seemed like he knew his stuff and I should go with him but I just wasn't feeling it.  In the end, he was the only one who said a 7 wouldn't go through.

The second attorney had a small cluttered office in a small building. He was over an hour late. No expensive 3 piece suit for this guy. Just a basic short sleeve shirt and jeans Seemed pretty knowledgeable. The other two were phone calls. One seemed like he was straight out of Brooklyn, NY. Funny guy, knew his stuff. And the last was professional, detailed and to the point. I just felt comfortable with him. Like everything was okay. He's the guy I used and everything really was okay. No issues, a simple 341 meeting on the phone then a call from him to tell me it was discharged 2 months later. 

[masscredit]

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@masscredit wrote:

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It's been a year and I have 8 cards with decent limits. I need to build a wall around the garden and keep my ass in there! And that's what I'm going to do. Nothing until this time next year at the earliest. That will be 2 years since DC. My AAoA should be over a year across the board and maybe my 08 scores will be creeping over 700. Now I'm accountable to everyone who reads this. 

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Okay so... I'm here to say that I didn't stick to what I said. I was reading a thread about Walmart cards after burning Cap1. Someone mentioned a pre-qualification page of the Walmart site. Yeah, that's what got me. I get sucked into the pre-qualification sites. I checked out that page, entered my info and found I would be approved for a Walmart Rewards Mastercard. So I continued with the app. Approved for a $2K limit. String me up, I was bad.

I don't know if $2K is an average SL for this card but it's my lowest limit. Hopefully it will grow. Kind of shows me my approval SL is starting to go down. Another reason to lock myself in the garden. So again, I will try like hell to stay there until the end of next June.