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Introduction, thank yous and advice! (warning long post!)

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Anonymous
Not applicable

Introduction, thank yous and advice! (warning long post!)

Hello all I just wanted to thank you for posting such informative material on here.  I have been lurking this forum for the past year since I got really sick and ended up in the hospital for a few days right after my first son was born last year August.  Although I was in a lot of pain I was really bored and needed some reading material.  For years I had been resarching credit repair, I even paid a few companies to "repair" my credit.  Once I found these forums though I couldn't stop, the information was like a well of fresh water.  I remember having to keep my phone plugged in next to the hospital bed so I could read these posts, sometimes 8 hours a day.  

 

At the time I was 31 and had around 60k in student loan debt, no credit cards, five charged off accounts, a 12 year old beat up VW Jetta, a 520 middle score, oh and new wife, and that new baby, AND was making 20k a year.  Scary!  I can't believe it was just a year ago and I don't blame anyone but myself for being in that position but what scared me most was that I knew most of my family and close friends were in a similar situations and viewed this as "normal".  I'm sad to say some still do.  In the bed I vowed to take massive action to change my situation.  

 

Fast forward to a year later and my son is as beautiful and active as ever, my wife the same, but I now have a 680 middle score.  I've joined the union in my industry and make around 60k a year, I have a two year old car I've financed through my credit union.  Through PFD and GW letters I've eliminated all the baddies on my account except an old Verizon CO that will disappear in 2020, eliminated 42k in student loans through negotiations and on time payments!  And on the credit card end of things I now have:

 

Visa Platinum Secured $500 / CapOne Union Plus  $750 / CapOne Quicksilver $1k / Home Depot $1k

 

Around 30% uti on all cards except the secured which i pay off in full monthly.

 

I know these numbers seem small to most of you veterans out there but this is a huge life change from just one year ago, sometimes my wife has to remind me of how different a man I am.  I changed my mindset and am changing my finances one day at a time.  This is from a guy who grew up thinking he'd always be in the "hood" with no way out, to now that much closer to being a home owner and member of the 700 club!  More important than the material things is the autonomy and feeling of control I have over my own life and confidence it has given me cannot be matched.  Thank you myFICO community members.  You have all contributed to my small success.

 

If you have any advice on how I should move forward please let me know as I'm really trying to purchase a home within the next two years.  

 

Peace and love.

wilson

 

Message 1 of 17
16 REPLIES 16
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Introduction, thank yous and advice! (warning long post!)

Welcome! Congratulations on the progress that you've made! Maintain the mindset that you now have concerning your credit and finances, continue being responsible with your debts and payments and you'll be just fine!

Message 2 of 17
OmarGB9
Community Leader
Super Contributor

Re: Introduction, thank yous and advice! (warning long post!)

Welcome and Grats on the progress!

Last App: 1/10/2023
Penfed Gold Visa Card

Currently rebuilding as of 04/11/2019.

Starting FICO 8 Scores:




Current FICO 8 scores:


Message 3 of 17
ohreally7654
Established Contributor

Re: Introduction, thank yous and advice! (warning long post!)


@Anonymous wrote:

Hello all I just wanted to thank you for posting such informative material on here.  I have been lurking this forum for the past year since I got really sick and ended up in the hospital for a few days right after my first son was born last year August.  Although I was in a lot of pain I was really bored and needed some reading material.  For years I had been resarching credit repair, I even paid a few companies to "repair" my credit.  Once I found these forums though I couldn't stop, the information was like a well of fresh water.  I remember having to keep my phone plugged in next to the hospital bed so I could read these posts, sometimes 8 hours a day.  

 

At the time I was 31 and had around 60k in student loan debt, no credit cards, five charged off accounts, a 12 year old beat up VW Jetta, a 520 middle score, oh and new wife, and that new baby, AND was making 20k a year.  Scary!  I can't believe it was just a year ago and I don't blame anyone but myself for being in that position but what scared me most was that I knew most of my family and close friends were in a similar situations and viewed this as "normal".  I'm sad to say some still do.  In the bed I vowed to take massive action to change my situation.  

 

Fast forward to a year later and my son is as beautiful and active as ever, my wife the same, but I now have a 680 middle score.  I've joined the union in my industry and make around 60k a year, I have a two year old car I've financed through my credit union.  Through PFD and GW letters I've eliminated all the baddies on my account except an old Verizon CO that will disappear in 2020, eliminated 42k in student loans through negotiations and on time payments!  And on the credit card end of things I now have:

 

Visa Platinum Secured $500 / CapOne Union Plus  $750 / CapOne Quicksilver $1k / Home Depot $1k

 

Around 30% uti on all cards except the secured which i pay off in full monthly.

 

I know these numbers seem small to most of you veterans out there but this is a huge life change from just one year ago, sometimes my wife has to remind me of how different a man I am.  I changed my mindset and am changing my finances one day at a time.  This is from a guy who grew up thinking he'd always be in the "hood" with no way out, to now that much closer to being a home owner and member of the 700 club!  More important than the material things is the autonomy and feeling of control I have over my own life and confidence it has given me cannot be matched.  Thank you myFICO community members.  You have all contributed to my small success.

 

If you have any advice on how I should move forward please let me know as I'm really trying to purchase a home within the next two years.  

 

Peace and love.

wilson

 


Wow what a story!! It is truly inspiring!!  You should be immensely proud of the gains you have made within the last year.  You've worked hard and have been diligent and it's clearly paying off in spades. Keep up the great work and a huge congratulations to you!

Started rebuilding 8/2015. Current Fico 8 Scores 9/17: TU FICO: 698 (from 646 3/15/16) | EX FICO: 689 (from 617 3/15/16) | EQ FICO: 670 (from 614 3/15/16). Discover Miles: $10K | Amex PRG | Amex BCE $2K | Amex SPG $2K | Citi Aadvantage $7K | JetBlue Plus MC $3.9K | Walmart MC $3.5K | Marvel MC $5K | NFCU CashRewards $15K | CareCredit $12K | PenFed Amex $9K | USAA Limitless Visa Sig $6K | NFCU goRewards $20K | NFCU Amex $10.4K | NavCheck $13.5K | Blispay $4K | QS $9.5K | Pier 1 $21.1K | RH $20.7K | JCrew $16.8K | Wayfair $4.9K | Pottery Barn $19.5K | Discover IT $4.1K | Nord. Visa Sig $22K | USAA Visa Plat $2.5K | Neiman Marcus $6.4k | Amex Delta Reserve $1k | Saks $15K | VS $2.2K | Target $1K | Macy's $25K | Bloomies Amex $25K| West Elm $12.4K | PP Credit (Comenity) $4.4K
Message 4 of 17
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Introduction, thank yous and advice! (warning long post!)

Thanks all. I really have become a little obsessed with it all over the past year. I love the strategy of it all, almost like chess. Anyways one more update while I'm at it I was just approved for a Ctit AAdvantage Platinum Select card that I applied for on the flight home last week. I think that's all the apps for now I'm going to head to the garden for a while. Most likely I'll be in the mortgage section of the site studying and making a game plane with the wife. Appreciate you guys. Happy holidays!
Message 5 of 17
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Introduction, thank yous and advice! (warning long post!)

Welcome and congratulations on your success! I would suggest to work on getting your utilization down before applying for an additional card, ideally to 10% but at least to 20%.

 

How long have your had your current cards? if you have at least a year of credit history with major cards, once you bring your utilization down, I would recommend applying for a Discover card. Another very good choice for you would be Barclay Rewards. So in that order, I'd recommend: getting your utilization lower, apply for Discover, and then for Barclay Rewards. Then garden, which means cultivating your current credit limits and working on creating a positive history, without applying for additional ones.

 

Your current score is good enough for either or both cards; for optimal chances of success, keep that utilization lower. Hope this helps and you are doing very well! Smiley Happy

Message 6 of 17
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Introduction, thank yous and advice! (warning long post!)

So far I've only held the Visa Platinum Secured & CapOne Union Plus for a year. The CapOne Quicksilver and Home Depot have only been in my possession for four months now. I applied to Barclays Rewards about six months ago but was denied. I'm not sure how long one should wait before applying again after a denial but maybe I'll give them a ring. I have about 8 inquiries on my report so I'm a little apprehensive about apping for a while but I will keep your recommendations in mind. I thought 20% utilization was ideal. I'll work to bring down that to 10% and hold tight for a few months.
Message 7 of 17
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Introduction, thank yous and advice! (warning long post!)

Welcome and good luck!

Message 8 of 17
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Introduction, thank yous and advice! (warning long post!)


@Anonymous wrote:
So far I've only held the Visa Platinum Secured & CapOne Union Plus for a year. The CapOne Quicksilver and Home Depot have only been in my possession for four months now. I applied to Barclays Rewards about six months ago but was denied. I'm not sure how long one should wait before applying again after a denial but maybe I'll give them a ring. I have about 8 inquiries on my report so I'm a little apprehensive about apping for a while but I will keep your recommendations in mind. I thought 20% utilization was ideal. I'll work to bring down that to 10% and hold tight for a few months.

How many inquiries are on each report? (TU, EX, EQ). Did you mean 8 total or 8 per report? Barclay can be inquiry sensitive.

 

Barclay probably denied you because they like to see at least year of credit history with a major credit card, and it sounds as if at that time, you only had 6 months of history with the first two major cards you mention.

 

If you only have a few inquiries on each report I'd try Discover. Otherwise, I'd wait until a few inquiries age to the one year mark and then reapply for Barclay Rewards.

Message 9 of 17
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Introduction, thank yous and advice! (warning long post!)

How were you able to get your student loan amounts lowered so much?  I do know if you work in the public sector (501c3) at least 30hrs/ week and make income based payments for 10 years all your debts will be forgiven. 

 

A tip I found helpful was sending bill payments from my checking account for more than my card's limit, that way I was not restricted so much.  Also heavy use and paying off the quicksilver should get you on the fast track to a CLI.

 

I too have some student loan issues (although mine are 120day late errors on my smallest loan). I was anti credit cards my entire adult life until I realized they were the missing puzzle piece to my couponing.  No, you don't get rich from coupons or card bonuses, but if you dont have a new mortgage coming up, the sign on bonuses really get attractive once your scores pass 700.  Not trying to sound braggy, just as a data point, but just this past 6 months I went from having mostly $500 limit  cards, and a $6k limit care credit, to everything in my signature. Things almost improved exponentially.

 

I think you have done a great job in getting your scores up! They would be higher if your limits were higher. Cap 1 request a CLI every 6 months.  I once Apped JUST CUZ and regretted it (lenovo preferred). Even though it was a soft pull, it was a retail account on my report I did not need.

 

I believe home depot is with citibank.  Now is not the time to go add more accounts, but just to get a feel for what banks think of you, I would check for prequalified offers at Chase, Citi, Amex, Bank of America.  Check them every month or two. You may notice more offers and better terms as time goes on.  You are the consumer, they make the money off you even if you pay in full.  Use your credit inquiries wisely. Some of us here value them at a minimum of $400 (meaning we try to not apply for a card w/ a bonus valued at less than $400).  

 

Sounds like with your past health issues getting care credit may be a good fit, its synchrony bank, known for huge limits, which are great cushions for utilization.

 

Also kudos to you Wilson for tripling your income, that is a wonderful thing you did for your family. Always prioritize wants vs needs when it comes to making purchases.  If you have to do any christmas shopping I would highly encourage you to use ebates and pay with your quicksilver for even more cash back. I also like to use giftcardgranny and buy retail gift cards that are also heavily discounted so you save even more. Triple dip on the savings.

 

Whatever you do, especially with your limits, please try to keep a $2 balance on one card, and pay the rest off in full before the statement end date if you can. High utilization isnt always the end of the world as it is forgiving. But it will help with future credit limit increases and adding new accounts.

 

I envision your signature full of cashback or rewards cards in 6-12 months or less. Its fun discovering new cards, categories, etc...esp when it leads to a heavily discounted family vacation!

Message 10 of 17
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