Two years, still stuck in the low 600s

[DIYcredit]

I would do as pizza1 said don't open any more cc's,You have two.cc's,store cards and student loans.That's more than enough.Concentrate on paying your bills on ime,low cc utilization,let the derogatories age,build a long history and your Fico score will increase over time.             GOOD LUCK...

[Anonymous]

I had perfect 100% on time payment history on all of my cards before bk.  Once the balances got above ~50% on the cards, my score plummeted from 760 to low 600s and no bank would give me a loan or credit card. This was without a single "baddie" on my credit report. You must pay down the balances on your cards if your goal is to increase your credit score.  Your 2 year-old public record and the inquiries are a minor influence on your score compared to the % utilization.

[Hockeypnc1]

Bumping this for more replies. 

[FireMedic1]

No reason to bump this. Theres really not more more to add. Pizza is the post BK expert IMO on this forum with the success they've had. The responce will stay the same. Pay down the debts and the score goes up. Good Luck!

[Hockeypnc1]

Updated as of 1-28-19

MyFico 8 score, Transunion from Discover, date of score 12-17-18--- 635, revolving utilization at 20 percent, length of credit 12 years, 6 inquiries, 33 total accounts, 1 missed payment reported, 

CreditKarma scores, date of score Jan. 28 2019--

Transunion-- 615, revolving utilization 20 percent, "age of credit history" 1 year, 10 months, total accounts 35, 35 hard inquiries, payment history 99 percent

Equifax--599, revolving utilization 20 percent, "age of credit history" 2 years, 5 months, total accounts 32, hard inquiries 33, payment history 99 percent, 1 derogatory mark (BK Oct. 2016)

[Anonymous]

I can only imagine you're at 20% total UTIL, because of the numerous SCT store cards you have, and not because youve managed to pay down everything this quickly (as you early replied you had a lower income.) You need to work on lowering the UTIL on each card. Besides the student loans which you will likely be paying forever, the other debt seems easily lowered with some good discipline. Don't open any new accounts, keep paying down balances. Numerous strategies for paying things down.  I know youre looking for a solution to bump your scores sooner, but there is no other way but hard work and discipline. 

[Hockeypnc1]

That is correct. I have not made much of a dent into my two major credit cards, the Discover Card and the UW Credit Union VISA.

You are correct, with better discipline and trying to get those credit cards paid down my card utilization will start going down.

You are also very correct about the student loans, those will stick with me for life.

Thanks for the responses and pointers!!

[Hockeypnc1]

Latest:

Approved for DCU basic platinum card, unsecured, $3,000 limit

FAKO scores (CreditKarma)

Transunion- 616 (up 1 point in last 7 days)

Equifax-604 (up 5 points in last 7 days)

Overal credit utilization: 20%

[joltdude]

I wouldnt have gone for another card at this point but... it does make for some interesting options... would a BT be cost effective for you ? You still got to work on paying down, but at least now your not relying on store cards for padding... still the only real thing you can do is find a way to cut expenses and pare off wants vs needs... it sucks.. but cable tv, daily coffees and other niceties will not get this accomplished.. and i do kinda hate how folks recommend lyft and uber.. In this state just the commercial insurance alone will kill you for occasional lyft/uber.. and if you rent a car your losing a good swath of your income unless you drive 40+ hours a week.. Kill the cable and/or bring down the service tier for internet, even disconnect it if you must... Dialup and going to a coffee shop ... Less eating out even fast food... Folks here know its hard but you do what you gotta do.. and Pizza's advice is one of the best when coming back from BK ... Hang in there and really take a deep thought...

Good luck and stick around

-J

[joltdude]

And FAKO scores.. are not very useful.. Its been rumoured that some apartment rentals use them.. but for most everything else.. Not so much.. they arent a good guideline... Is Karma good for seeing activity... mostly... not for scores.. really would be good if you did the CCT 1$ trick and got a baseline and full data to work off of... Also you can get *another* free score from Discover thats different if you sign up for Credit Scorecard (the website) vs the one in the app ... CS is EX if i recall while Discovers in account one is TU..... So theres 2 Fico 8 scores there...free every month... 

-J