Rebuilding My Credit

[DesertFox]

I have two subprime CC, both of course with low balances.$400-$300. Im allowed to increase those balanced by making deposits of course :-( but I'm more than willing if it will positively impact my fico. I've been told that $2500 is a magic number for CC's when rebuilding. Should I try this or just stand pat n be patient by keeping my usage at 5% like I've been doing with these minuscule balances???

[bichonmom]

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@DesertFox wrote:
I have two subprime CC, both of course with low balances.$400-$300. Im allowed to increase those balanced by making deposits of course :-( but I'm more than willing if it will positively impact my fico. I've been told that $2500 is a magic number for CC's when rebuilding. Should I try this or just stand pat n be patient by keeping my usage at 5% like I've been doing with these minuscule balances???

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balances or creditlimits? You shouldn't be carrying abalance. You can, but it does nothing for your rebuilding or FICO. It's best to PIF every month, and only let one cc report a balance of lessthan 10%  of that cc's cl. Then PIF by due date. 

There is nomagic number. If you're talking about increasing balances by making deposits, it sounds like you have secured CCs. The only real benefit to having a higher CL is that when you apply for unsecured cc, they may be more inclined to start you with a higher CL to start. Just use your cards and PIF every month. Then after a year, you should be able to get an unsecured cc.

[Revelate]

DFox,

Welcome to the forums; while increase your limits on secured cards can have some benefits, make certain they don't require a credit inquiry to do so... or if they do, that you have a big sum to put down.  I'd recommend posting which cards you have specifically here and some other guidance can be offered in terms of a recommended path.

That said, the path to rebuilding credit is simply to use your cards, make payments, and never be late or short on any of them.  That's literally 90+% of the ballgame, and everything else is just coloring inside the margins.  If you look through the forums for "paying before the statement date" you can find a lot of information about proactively managing your reported balances if you so desire... and it's not a problem to pay your credit cards multiple times a month either.

[Wolf3]

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@DesertFox wrote:
I have two subprime CC, both of course with low balances.$400-$300. Im allowed to increase those balanced by making deposits of course :-( but I'm more than willing if it will positively impact my fico. I've been told that $2500 is a magic number for CC's when rebuilding. Should I try this or just stand pat n be patient by keeping my usage at 5% like I've been doing with these minuscule balances???

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IMO, you should increase your deposits until you have Credit Limits that you don't consider miniscule.    There is no magic number, I would pick a number thateasily exceeds the amount you would normally spend in a month with your CC. .