I am unsure how to proceed.

[Anonymous]

I have been building my credit for about a year now and my tu has gone from 489 in August 2014 to fico tu of 656. I have the qs1 with a cl of 750 and a qs with a 500 cl( just upgraded from platinum today)

I am actually waiting for my scores to go up because my util is a lot lower now because I paid down my balances. I make sure to pay frequently and always more than the min. Anyway I'm needing advice about how best to go about getting larger cls. I'm really new to this but I've been really diligent about it. I currently have a total limit across all cards of $2050 (I also have a care credit with an $800 cl). The only other accounts on my cr are my car loan and student loans. They are both current with 100% on time payments. My student loans are still deferred because I am going to school. I also work full-time. Should I be using my cc's more? I usually just use my debit but I am really thinking that I'm going about this all wrong. I really only have 2 cards because I do not use the care credit should I try for another one? If so any suggestions?

[thummel]

I think your doing fine to be honest. Just use your cards every now and again and pay them off and just repeat. If you want some rewards with your purchases you can always try to pick up another card too. 😀

[ddemari]

Congrats on making the decesion to build and stick with it. It took me a good 2 years to go from the 300-800 approvals to the 3000-5000 and then 10,000+ approvals. Income also has to support larger credit limits. But yes, u should use your cards more and still spend what u can afford. I never use a debit card and I know lots of people that do and they can't switch over to using credit, something in them doesn't trust themselves lol. Get your scores up in to low 700s and continue to keep balances low and u will find yourself with higher limits down the road.

[Anonymous]

Thank you. I guess that I just need to be patient lol. I kind of got spoiled in the beginning because my score went up rather fast. I guess that had more to do with my choice to work on my credit and really old collections falling off my report. Anyway I can be patient I am not in the market for insane credit limits but it would be nice to have $10-15k at some point in the future. I make decent money now but will be making more when I finish school soon. Thank you guys for the suggestions. When my score gets better what credit cards would you suggest (not now but maybe in a year or so). I really only think I need maybe 1-2 more total and only when my score improves. Man I wonder if it is possible for me to even get close to an 800 or 850. Oh well hopefully one day....lol

[Anonymous]

Oh and how do I find out when cap1 cuts the statement so I can always make sure to pay my balance down before that?

[degs138]

Only spend what you can PIF before statement cuts. You can let a small amount report but only report <10%. I did that and went from 300 limit to 5000 limit in 7 months. 2 years later I have mid 700 scores and 52000 in credit lines

[Anonymous]

I'm currious, are you building credit for the first time or is this disaster recovery?  Being in deferred student loans I'm going to go out on a limb and assume building.

[Anonymous]

Well I guess that it is a bit of both. I have have only had a cc one other time when I was 18 and that was a disaster. I have never had any installment of any kind except for student loans until now. Now what I have had are some small medical bills in collections from before I had insurance. Most of the collections have aged off my report I think tu is only showing 1 and squid ax is showing 3 but I am in the process of having at least one of those removed. I took my son to urgent care and they forgot to bill insurance. I thought I had taken care of it before it hit my cr but after they fixed the mix up the ca still reported it but at a $0 balance. But I talked to them the other day so it should be removed by now. I can't check because none of the sites I use has updated yet.

[Anonymous]

You also menetioned a car loan.  Credit diversity is a good thing but only if you are paying it down way more the the minimums due.  Medical bills on credit reports are weighted way lower than all other types because they we'rent optional purchases.  Medical is understood to be "incure the debt or die", not optional.  Most lendors get that but it will still drag you down for a few years (decreasing scale - up to seven years) if you didn't pay up in a timely fashion.  Student loans are installment debts (with slightly less weight).  Deffered student loans are installment loans that you will be paying on soon that will also probably increase in principal before you start paying. These are also understood as a fact of life (for most of us who go to college) but still weigh on your ability to pay other debts.  Simply put, you're high risk right now if you carry a ballance on the starter cards you have now and have other looming debts.  Reducing that risk ONLY takes money.  Easier said than done but take if from a guy who messed up in his 20's and is just now back in good graces in his 40's...  Pay-pay-pay NOW.  It will show the creditors that you are worthy of their risk.

If I'm wrong about ANYTHING I'm sure others here will point it out rapidly.

[ddemari]

If your cap 1
Card is due on say the 28th, the statement usually by the 2 or 3rd. U will be able to tell by looking at the statement