Been a while.

[Anonymous]

So last I posted I wasn't doing so good, but I did get a car. That I'm still paying on. With 20% interest... ugh... Didn't get the job. The car didn't pass inspection and needed $900 worth of work to pass. My new to me $2000 car that I couldn't drive for 9 months due to having to save to get it fixed. That I was also paying on, and the insurance...

Still on SSI. Still $750 a month. Credit scores in the 700's. One secured credit card that I've had for 7 years. Paid in full every month and then used for things like cell bill etc...

Looking into something different. New job offer again. Looking for a personal loan. Same issues. High credit usage. Not enough credit accounts. HOW DO I GET MORE!!! Grrrr... I have all good stuff but these few things hear repeatedly.  Do they ONLY look at the BAD?!? Don't they look at the numbers? $300 card... get one tank of gas and blam! 35%+ usage.

Looked into an RV specific loan again. I can handle the payments. Let's see what happens. Will be looking to my own bank again tomorrow.

What am I doing wrong?!?!

Thank you for reading this.

[kimbersleep]

You mention that you are being abused by your roommates but that you cannot get help with that. I am sorry this is happening to you. You also mention you are on SSI. If you are a person with a disability, you may be considered a vulnerable adult and may be able to get assistance with identifying another living situation through your state, city or county's Adult Protective Services.

[Anonymous]

I'm sorry about that. I was frustrated and was just typing. I have removed that part of the post not that it's any less true.

Any advice for the other problems? Specifically why the broken logic of not giving more credit to a 700+ score because they don't have enough of a history?

The 3 main problems I see across all my reports are High credit usage, Loan balances, and Few accounts paid on time.

High credit usage: one card $300 limit. I buy gas or groceries and there goes that.

Loan balances: I have 1 car loan that I have 7 payments out of 24 left on. How is that high?

Few accounts: I have 2. They say the "normal" is 6. How do I get more if places only see 2 and won't give more because of that?

Paid on time: The 2 account is paid on time. The report even says so.

So my overall question is what am I doing wrong?

Thank you.

[QuakerOatmeal]

20% interest on a car loan? Thats pretty high, considering your credit scores in the 700s.  Have you considered refinancing through your bank/credit union?

[Anonymous]

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@AnonymousNot enough credit accounts. HOW DO I GET MORE!!! Grrrr... I have all good stuff but these few things hear repeatedly.  Do they ONLY look at the BAD?!? Don't they look at the numbers? $300 card... get one tank of gas and blam! 35%+ usage.

---

A $300 card is just fine for things like tank of gas.  Real-time usage % is irrelevant, it's reported usage that matters.  Just make multiple payments on the card.  I know it can be a bit of a pain, but it is literally just a few clicks that takes 10 seconds.  Buy your tank of gas, pay it off.  Done deal.  The only constraint to a $300 card is that you can't make a single purchase that's > $300.  You can still make $200-$300 purchases every few days if you wanted to, so long as you pay off the $200-$300 right away every time.

If you're looking to scoop up more accounts to thicken your file, try some secured cards.  You can get one from a local credit union, a Discover and a Capital One.  There's 3 right there and you'll go from a thin file to a non-thin one.  After 6 months of making on-time payments, chances are all 3 would let you unsecure them and you'd probably have your limits raised to $1000-$2000 on them (or maybe even higher, who knows) with credit scores in the 700's.

Regarding an installment loan, negative reason statements can be present if the loan isn't paid down to < 8.9% of the original balance.    You mentioned 7 out of 24 payments; that's > 8.9% so you score is being held back relative to if you had < 8.9% of that balance left.  This could be 10-15 points or so.  It's just a reason statement educating you saying that your score can still be boosted by bringing that balance down.  This is a good thing and not a negative, IMO.

[DollyLama]

The factor on loan-the balance is too high, hits everyone unless you have over an 800 score, or your balance hits under <8.9%, I really would not concern with that factor. Dismiss it. 

Utilization, the key is to pay and never let a balance report at statement cut, not your due date , of higher than 8.9% of your total tradeline, if that can't be obtained, the next threshold is no more than 28.9% of its' credit line. 

What two cards do you have? With a seven year revolver, and no credit line increase or graduated to unsecured?

Have you tried pre-qual with Capital One to see if you have any offers. 

Lastly, do you have previous or current derogs on your file, late payments, chargeoffs?

[Anonymous]

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 wrote:

20% interest on a car loan? Thats pretty high, considering your credit scores in the 700s.  Have you considered refinancing through your bank/credit union?

---

Yep. Best I could do at the time. I had a 700 score then also. Bank said no. The car was too old and had too many miles. Got taken very badly on it also. $3500 I put my entire savings as a down payment, $1500 (SSI allows savings of $2000 max). Found out it had major issues a few months after and it was only worth about $400. 

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@AnonymousNot enough credit accounts. HOW DO I GET MORE!!! Grrrr... I have all good stuff but these few things hear repeatedly.  Do they ONLY look at the BAD?!? Don't they look at the numbers? $300 card... get one tank of gas and blam! 35%+ usage.

---

A $300 card is just fine for things like tank of gas.  Real-time usage % is irrelevant, it's reported usage that matters.  Just make multiple payments on the card.  I know it can be a bit of a pain, but it is literally just a few clicks that takes 10 seconds.  Buy your tank of gas, pay it off.  Done deal.  The only constraint to a $300 card is that you can't make a single purchase that's > $300.  You can still make $200-$300 purchases every few days if you wanted to, so long as you pay off the $200-$300 right away every time.

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I pay this off in full every month for the past 7 years.

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If you're looking to scoop up more accounts to thicken your file, try some secured cards.  You can get one from a local credit union, a Discover and a Capital One.  There's 3 right there and you'll go from a thin file to a non-thin one.  After 6 months of making on-time payments, chances are all 3 would let you unsecure them and you'd probably have your limits raised to $1000-$2000 on them (or maybe even higher, who knows) with credit scores in the 700's.

 

My card is a Capital One secured card. It satarted out at $100 and I was able to put more money into it to get it to $300. In 7 years Ive never gotten an increase and now they don't allow more deposits. I've requested increases/unsecuring and was told I wasn't eligible.

[Anonymous]

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 wrote:

The factor on loan-the balance is too high, hits everyone unless you have over an 800 score, or your balance hits under <8.9%, I really would not concern with that factor. Dismiss it. 

Utilization, the key is to pay and never let a balance report at statement cut, not your due date , of higher than 8.9% of your total tradeline, if that can't be obtained, the next threshold is no more than 28.9% of its' credit line. 

What two cards do you have? With a seven year revolver, and no credit line increase or graduated to unsecured?

Have you tried pre-qual with Capital One to see if you have any offers. 

Lastly, do you have previous or current derogs on your file, late payments, chargeoffs?

---

I have one Capital One secured card with $300 of my own money that I've had for 7 years. I pay in full every month before the due date. 

The other account is the car loan.

No derogs at all, no late payments, no chargeoffs EVER. 

Could it be my income? I get $750 month from SSI. I just got another job offer that 90% perfect for me (can handle my physical and mental issues) in another state. I'm trying to get off SSI. I'm a bit... rushy... the car won't pass inspection next month ($2000+ in repairs)and I'm looking to get a small/cheap motorhome to drive there.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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 wrote:

The factor on loan-the balance is too high, hits everyone unless you have over an 800 score, or your balance hits under <8.9%, I really would not concern with that factor. Dismiss it. 

Utilization, the key is to pay and never let a balance report at statement cut, not your due date , of higher than 8.9% of your total tradeline, if that can't be obtained, the next threshold is no more than 28.9% of its' credit line. 

What two cards do you have? With a seven year revolver, and no credit line increase or graduated to unsecured?

Have you tried pre-qual with Capital One to see if you have any offers. 

Lastly, do you have previous or current derogs on your file, late payments, chargeoffs?

---

I have one Capital One secured card with $300 of my own money that I've had for 7 years. I pay in full every month before the due date. 

The other account is the car loan.

No derogs at all, no late payments, no chargeoffs EVER. 

Could it be my income? I get $750 month from SSI. I just got another job offer that 90% perfect for me (can handle my physical and mental issues) in another state. I'm trying to get off SSI. I'm a bit... rushy... the car won't pass inspection next month ($2000+ in repairs)and I'm looking to get a small/cheap motorhome to drive there.

---

Where are you taking this car for service? Have you gotten a second opinion? Also, have you checked the list of your state's inspection requirements to make sure the items they say need fixed are even on it?

I had a shop tell me a few years ago during inspection that I had a bad axle. I thanked them for the heads up and said I'd keep an eye on it and would have to deal with it later, and had them give me my sticker since that item isn't on NY's inspection requirements list. That was 5 years ago and I'm only seeing the signs of it needing replaced now.