@Anonymous wrote:
Your starting point is mine and I would love to be where you are at now, in regards to your score. Could you give me pointers? I have bad history, 20s were not kind to my score and I am just now trying to take it more seriously. 2 Cap One accounts at 100% 1 personal loan that I make min payments on 1 auto loan that is 30 days past due 2 Store cards with Comenity Bank 2 collection accounts (according to Credit Karma. One is about to be paid off next month) Where did you start? What raised it the most?
^^^
A lot of people on here are more knowledgeable than me when it comes to credit, and more experienced. What I can say regardless of your situation is to (1) don't spend more money than you can pay off,(2) if you need to spend more money, then first raise your income level (3) always pay on time, (4) never miss a payment, (5) if you want a few cards or 20+ cards (I've been in both situations), doesn;t matter, just make sure you follow #3 and #4 above; (6) I typically pay in full each month, some months I may purposeful pay the minimum to let it record on the credit history, but after a few months, I pay if all off. (7) use a calendar to write down your due dates for all bills so you don't miss the due date.
In terms of your current situation, a pychological change is needed, what changes people's behavior is not wanting to get a better score, but when people are sick and tired of the current situation, this drives change. when you are sick and tired of your finances, including credit record, you will see if you can sell the car and get rid of the payments (as you are late already, that may be a sign you cannot afford it), and buy a reliable one that has lower payments or you can pay cash up front preferably. Start paying down the capital one cards, and other accounts, in time collections will drop off etc but see if you can pay it down if it will not be for a while for them to drop off. Again, if you are not making enough income, think of a part time job, if you bought stuff you don;t need, sell them on ebay and use the money to pay down debt. The goal is to raise the income and spend less and pay down debt. Again when you are sick and tired of working to pay the bank, when you get to that point, your mind will want to make drastic changes. First order of priority is no more late or miss payments and you do what you have to do to ensure that.
If you do the above you WILL have fabulous credit. It'll take time, but you will see it.
