Received my first cc after discharge. From what I can see on my account, my Cap1 statement date will be 11/14 and first payment will be due 12/11.
Wondering...do I pay in full before the statement hits (like now) or after the 14th? I am planning on carrying a small balance but also don’t know when I should pay that off fully. It’s my only card as of yet and I’d like to get as much of a score boost from it as possible as I’ll be needing to finance a car in the near future and can use any help I can get. Thanks in advance
Wondering...do I pay in full before the statement hits (like now) or after the 14th? I am planning on carrying a small balance but also don’t know when I should pay that off fully. It’s my only card as of yet and I’d like to get as much of a score boost from it as possible as I’ll be needing to finance a car in the near future and can use any help I can get. Thanks in advance
You want to pay before the 14th so when the statement cuts whatever you decide to let report does so. Then pay it before the due date on 12/11. $10 will be fine and have that report. Which card did you get? If its the Plat. In 3 months you can upgrade it to the QS for cash back. The link is on the forums once you get there. In 4-6 months check Disco's pre-qual and see what pops up. Dont rush it. Take your time, Its a slow and steady pace to rebuild. Please dont rush it like some do and go app crazy. Were here to help. Welcome to the forums!
Do you mean you want a small balance to report? Or do you actually mean carry a balance that you will be paying interest charges on? If so I recommend paying in full before the due date obviously. But as far as fico scoring, you need at least three cards for optinal scoring. Using AZEO (all zero except one), you let only one of your cards report a small (under 8.9% of total credit limit) balance report, while the others report a zero balance, meaning PIF (pay in full) the other. before STATEMENT date, not due date.
Thanks for the welcome and replies. Cap1 gave me a platinum with a $300 limit. If I understand correctly I pay it down to $10 today. And then pay that remaining $10 down before the due date? Does that sound right? I had been planning on carrying that small balance but I’ve apparently misunderstood 🤦🏻♀️ I’ve read way too much on these boards in recent days and I’m on information overload lol
I read about the 3 cards but figured I needed to take my time. I’ve never used too much credit and know I need to be wise in using it going forward. In the past I never put much thought into the statement, due date, or reporting dates.
I declared Bk thanks to the perfect storm of a really bad car wreck, the subsequent massive medical bills, and a badly thought out choice to co-sign a car for an ex bf who stopped paying and the lender seeking a judgement on only me. All of this happened within a day of each other and I started Bk the next day. Dc was 10/22. So I’m very early yet. My FICO 8s are all over the place. EX 571 (only thanks to EX boost tho) EQ 555 and TU 492.
I refuse to be in this position again so I’m going slow. I can wait and learn before getting cards 2 and 3 I think. Unfortunately I’ll need a vehicle in the near future. 😒
Cap1 gave me a platinum with a $300 limit. If I understand correctly I pay it down to $10 today. And then pay that remaining $10 down before the due date? Does that sound right? I had been planning on carrying that small balance but I’ve apparently misunderstood 🤦🏻♀️ I’ve read way too much on these boards in recent days and I’m on information overload lolI read about the 3 cards but figured I needed to take my time. I’ve never used too much credit and know I need to be wise in using it going forward. In the past I never put much thought into the statement, due date, or reporting dates.
I declared Bk thanks to the perfect storm of a really bad car wreck, the subsequent massive medical bills, and a badly thought out choice to co-sign a car for an ex bf who stopped paying and the lender seeking a judgement on only me. All of this happened within a day of each other and I started Bk the next day. Dc was 10/22. So I’m very early yet. My FICO 8s are all over the place. EX 571 (only thanks to EX boost tho) EQ 555 and TU 492.
I refuse to be in this position again so I’m going slow. I can wait and learn before getting cards 2 and 3 I think. Unfortunately I’ll need a vehicle in the near future. 😒
@onthepath wrote:
Thanks for the welcome and replies.
I read about the 3 cards but figured I needed to take my time. I’ve never used too much credit and know I need to be wise in using it going forward. In the past I never put much thought into the statement, due date, or reporting dates.
I declared Bk thanks to the perfect storm of a really bad car wreck, the subsequent massive medical bills, and a badly thought out choice to co-sign a car for an ex bf who stopped paying and the lender seeking a judgement on only me. All of this happened within a day of each other and I started Bk the next day. Dc was 10/22. So I’m very early yet. My FICO 8s are all over the place. EX 571 (only thanks to EX boost tho) EQ 555 and TU 492.
I refuse to be in this position again so I’m going slow. I can wait and learn before getting cards 2 and 3 I think. Unfortunately I’ll need a vehicle in the near future. 😒
Correct, but if it's your only card, then leave a small balance (8.9% of your limit, or less than $26.70, so $10 would be okay, I'm just saying it doesn't necessarily have to be $10 exactly) on it to report to the credit bureaus, then pay it off before due date to avoid interest. It's perfectly fine to take your time.
As for needing a new car soon, if you aren't already, I'd look into joining a local CU (credit union) and establishing a relationship with them now. They typically offer much better interest rates on car loans than big banks.
And welcome to myFICO! 
I did just that. I will pay the small balance this week after it reports.
I've been a member of a local CU for 12+ years but in the time frame leading to the BK I ended up overdrafting the account a couple times but in a big way. I was largely bedridden for a couple months and living off only 60% of my normal income (thankfully had disability pay) and ended up with a mess financially. I suspect I won't get much love from that CU with an auto loan.
It seems that all the CUs that are mentioned here will be more useful to me when I have some distance with my BK. None of them seem too pleased to deal with the recently discharged. I will join a couple so I am well positioned when the BK has aged a bit though. I'm pretty sure I'll have to settle for an awful auto loan to get started and just try and buy a vehicle that is well suited to refinancing. It's getting tough to not to buy a vehicle but I'm taking it day to day. I've had to let some amazing car deals get scooped up 
oh well, It'll be okay going forward if I take my steps wisely.