Time to Garden?

[baddebt2014]

So my last baddie PFD came off my TU report. My Fico and CK showed 641 with TU. I went to Capital One and did the pre-app and ended up with a C1 Platinum with $300cl. Same story with Credit One $300cl. Was ordering from Amazon and got a pop up for discount if i applied. $700CL from Amazon. Went to the Walmart site and ended up with $150cl.

I am done for now and time to garden. I plan to refinance my car after the cards have a litlle time reporting. 1 year ago my credit was a mess and only got my car with a large down payment and 14.8 interest.

Thanks to everyone on the boards as reading your posts helped me figure out what to do.

I know my AAoA will take a hit but it was only at 5 months so it shouldn't hurt too much. So my question is - It's time to garden, right?

MM

[Anonymous]

Good luck with gardening! may your credit grow like dandelions

[TheClub]

Good luck

[b_diddy]

Hope you find peace in the garden.

[Jerry45]

Congrats!!!

[Ghoshida]

Yes, do garden.

Try not to use the Credit One card. I believe it charges interest from day 1. I'd have suggested not getting it since you got Cap One, Amazon, and Walmart. But since you have it, keep it there sockdrawered and cancel it before the next AF hits you. The positive history will remain for 10 years after you cancel. 

[baddebt2014]

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@Ghoshida wrote:

Yes, do garden.

Try not to use the Credit One card. I believe it charges interest from day 1. I'd have suggested not getting it since you got Cap One, Amazon, and Walmart. But since you have it, keep it there sockdrawered and cancel it before the next AF hits you. The positive history will remain for 10 years after you cancel. 

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Ghoshida - Can you explain in idiot terms about not using the Credit One card, sockdrawered and cancel before the next AF hits. I think you mean open the envelope and activate and do not use the card. Cancel before the next AF hits. Can you explain "the next AF" Dont really need to use it just trying to rebuild and since it was available I took it. Dont know what AF means and will search after this posts. I appreciate your help

MM

[Ghoshida]

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@baddebt2014 wrote:

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@Ghoshida wrote:

Yes, do garden.

Try not to use the Credit One card. I believe it charges interest from day 1. I'd have suggested not getting it since you got Cap One, Amazon, and Walmart. But since you have it, keep it there sockdrawered and cancel it before the next AF hits you. The positive history will remain for 10 years after you cancel. 

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Ghoshida - Can you explain in idiot terms about not using the Credit One card, sockdrawered and cancel before the next AF hits. I think you mean open the envelope and activate and do not use the card. Cancel before the next AF hits. Can you explain "the next AF" Dont really need to use it just trying to rebuild and since it was available I took it. Dont know what AF means and will search after this posts. I appreciate your help

MM

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Hi MM,

Yes, activate the card, but do not use the card. Maybe a chewing gum once in 3 months, and immediately pay off.

Unless I am mistaken, they charge interest the moment you make a purchase. So for actual purchases, use the other cards which I think are better.

AF = annual fee. I am sure the Credit One card has an annual fee, but you must have paid the first fee already when applying. Since you have paid for the card already, keep it in your account and let it report 0 balance on monthly statements. 6 month of responsible credit use across all other cards will increase your scores. The available limit on the Credit One card will make your utilization look better (important for FICO score).

In a year you'll be eligible for much better cards. Then, before you need to pay next year's Annual Fee, cancel the credit one card. Your history will still stay with you for 10 years and at that time, with your higher scores you can get a better card like Discover etc. 

Also make sure you do not report high balances on other cards. Spend as you need to, but before the statement is generated, make sure you pay down your balance and the statement reports only 10% of the total Credit Limit. (in other words, use credit cards like debit cards. If you can't pay for it immediately, you should not buy it.)

[baddebt2014]

That was the exact answer I was looking for. Thank you!

MM

[SunriseEarth]

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@Ghoshida wrote:

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@baddebt2014 wrote:

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@Ghoshida wrote:

Yes, do garden.

Try not to use the Credit One card. I believe it charges interest from day 1. I'd have suggested not getting it since you got Cap One, Amazon, and Walmart. But since you have it, keep it there sockdrawered and cancel it before the next AF hits you. The positive history will remain for 10 years after you cancel. 

---

Ghoshida - Can you explain in idiot terms about not using the Credit One card, sockdrawered and cancel before the next AF hits. I think you mean open the envelope and activate and do not use the card. Cancel before the next AF hits. Can you explain "the next AF" Dont really need to use it just trying to rebuild and since it was available I took it. Dont know what AF means and will search after this posts. I appreciate your help

MM

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Hi MM,

Yes, activate the card, but do not use the card. Maybe a chewing gum once in 3 months, and immediately pay off.

Unless I am mistaken, they charge interest the moment you make a purchase. So for actual purchases, use the other cards which I think are better.

AF = annual fee. I am sure the Credit One card has an annual fee, but you must have paid the first fee already when applying. Since you have paid for the card already, keep it in your account and let it report 0 balance on monthly statements. 6 month of responsible credit use across all other cards will increase your scores. The available limit on the Credit One card will make your utilization look better (important for FICO score).

In a year you'll be eligible for much better cards. Then, before you need to pay next year's Annual Fee, cancel the credit one card. Your history will still stay with you for 10 years and at that time, with your higher scores you can get a better card like Discover etc. 

Also make sure you do not report high balances on other cards. Spend as you need to, but before the statement is generated, make sure you pay down your balance and the statement reports only 10% of the total Credit Limit. (in other words, use credit cards like debit cards. If you can't pay for it immediately, you should not buy it.)

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+1.

Credit One offers no grace period.   That means you accumlate interest from the moment your charges post.   CreditOne also charges an AF (annual fee).   For me, it was billed monthly.   So this made it impossible for the card to ever have a zero balance, even if you PIF (pay in full).   So if your AF gets billed monthly, I wouldn't even bother activating and let them close the account.   I only recommend Credit One when no one else will offer you credit.

I'd recommend gardening for at least 6 months to a year and see how your scores look.