I need to "garden" - but how do I keep from applying?

[jeffery581]

I have a serious problem on applying as well.

I want a marvel spiderman and the blispay. But I have stayed strong and not applied. 

Please list hobbies:

Collect credit cards.

Troll the fico forums.

 If you freeze your reports would that raise a red flag?

[Anonymous]

Just decide to stop. Make a goal related to your credit (780+, letting x inquiries age off, SP CLI's, etc) that require no HP's and commit to it.

You know where GC is, door is always open.

[sr383]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Get outdoors and go hiking on a nice long trail, it's a wonderful experience and helps one find themselves again.

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That's right! Get outdoors! You do have the REI card, right? 

[CreditMagic7]

It's much better to lean on some of the good advice by stopping for awhile instead of ending up dropping an AA post about one (or more) of your current lenders that you treasure most.

That action will force one in the garden for sure or unravel any progress made all this time.

[MyLoFICO]

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@sr383 wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

Get outdoors and go hiking on a nice long trail, it's a wonderful experience and helps one find themselves again.

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That's right! Get outdoors! You do have the REI card, right? 

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Say...I'll bet you there is a card specifically for the outdoors type you could app for.. lol J/k.  

[Anonymous]

Haha I find this pretty funny but seems pretty serious. Sorry man, glad your admitting it though, first step right? Just make a goal in mind for your score, hopefully you aren't building debt, which if you're closing cards it doesn't sound like your are.

Personally I have goals in mind, so I keep that at the forefront. For one I want a dang Freedom and to maximize my rewards, which means I'm stuck for the next 8 months by default....I could always do HP Cli though....

But realistically mortgages and future car loans keep me at bay now that I've got a nice lineup.

Realistically if you have no debt, solid income, get all the cards you want.

[takeshi74]

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@mgs2010 wrote:

Should I freeze my bureaus to keep myself from applying? Any advice from you long term gardeners out there?

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You have to sort out whether or not specifics like freezes will help but you really need to find the root cause of your problem and address it.  Why are you getting gratification from applying for cards and not from other sources in your life?  Denying yourself something and then binging (i.e gardeing and spreeing) isn't necessarily healthy either.

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@mgs2010 wrote:

I have way more credit than I will ever use but for some reason, seeing that "Congratulations, you're approved!" is just so thrilling to me.

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Constantly apping is not sustainable and a good way to not get that thrill.

[Anonymous]

Fear of AA can also be a motivator to stop  

I really really want an Amex and BofA to finish off my lender list, as well as a regular Chase Freedom but I'm way over 5/24 now and really really don't want Barclays to drop me because Sallie Mae is one of my primary cards.

I did give in to an Ink Plus app to finish things off, but that at least won't show as a new account on my personal reports so other than 1 more EX INQ (which didn't drop my score at all) it's not as risky.

Let's support each other in gardening until we're back at 0 inquiries across all reports, deal?

[sr383]

I find it funny that Freedom is one of the easier cards to get, but there are so many of us with better cards that are still staring through the shop window. 

I'm sure 5/24 has a lot to do with it, but it's funny, all the same. ...

[Anonymous]

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@sr383 wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

Get outdoors and go hiking on a nice long trail, it's a wonderful experience and helps one find themselves again.

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That's right! Get outdoors! You do have the REI card, right? 

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No, but if there was a card that could get me out of the garden it would be it.  They pay such a nice dividend and I spend a decent amount in REI stores that the math would most likely check out.