Hello, everyone! So as my subject might sugest, I have turned building credit into a bit of a hobby. I am in my early 20's, and I live with my girlfriend. We both work full time, and I have a part time job on top of that. My newly established credit is decent, hers not so much. In another aspect we are the other way around... she has no criminal record. I, on the other hand, made very poor choices and got involved with drugs as a teenager and now have a felony on my record.
I completed my jail time, did my probation, paid all my fines in full. I paid my debt to the state and society and now I have the issue of being limited in my housing and employment options for the rest of my life. Finding employment and especially housing is difficult with a record even if you've been sober for quite a while and have stable employment with a company which specializes in addiction / mental health recovery. All an automated system or a big management company sees is FELON. DENIED. I screwed up, and that's what I get, and I have no control over that at this point. But there is ONE thing I can change... my credit!
Since I realized the importance of a good credit score and history for everyone in this country, I realized it could be especially important for me. My record cannot speak for who I am today, but my credit maybe can. If I can show that I am responsible financially, professionally, etc, maybe a halfway decent place that isn't in the ghetto is in the works for me and my girlfriend. Therefore, credit building has become a hobby of mine. I can't change my past but I can shape my future and a decent credit history means the nice home and the fancy new car I dream of having some day. I realize the material things aren't everything. But falling asleep without gunshots in the background and tweakers screaming at each other is a reasonable aspiration, isn't it?
I started with a secured CapitalOne card roughly mid-2014. $49 deposit, $200 limit. Reasonable for no credit history whatsoever. After several attempts at the "love button" as I've seen it called (I've been doing my "research") and denial letters I got an unsecured CLI to $500. This made me rather bold... I had attempted to apply for a Discover IT with only 2-3 months history (stupid) and had been hesitant to use up more hard inquiries. But CK kept recommending the Discover It, and the Amex Everyday, and the CapitalOne Quicksilver. I got pre-qual'ed through the CapitalOne website for the Quicksilver, so I decided to wait 'til my $500 CL would report to the bureaus in February. Then I got pre-qual'ed through Amex's website, which absolutely blew my mind. Then I received a Discover IT invitation in the mail. I applied for my Quicksilver last month and got approved! So I got ballsy and pulled the trigger on the Amex and the Discover IT within 10 minutes. APPROVED, APPROVED!! I was blown away with excitement. With roughly 8 months history, I now have the following:
CapitalOne Secured Mastercard, $500
CapitalOne QuicksilverOne, $500
Amex Everyday, $2000
Discover IT, $1250
I am planning on using my rewards strategically and hitting up Amex for that 3x CLI next month, and maybe again in another six months. My FICO reported as low 720's from both Amex and Discover when approved, which I'm sure has dropped a bit from the rapid fire apps. My credit plan is this:
-Maintain a good score for our move to a new apartment in July
-Hit up Amex for the 3x CLI mid-April
-Apply for a Chase Freedom card sometime just before our move (I am saving up a good chunk of cash to put down first / last months rent and a deposit and buy all new furniture when we move, and that just happens to all be going into a Chase checking / savings account. I will have at least $4k - $5k in savings, and regular direct deposits from two jobs and payments to credit card companies on record with Chase, so I have a solid recon plan when denied for limited history and too many inquiries)
-Apply for an Amex BlueCash Everyday in January 2016 (I want those cash rewards more than points, and that January 2015 reporting date for my AAoA)
-Continue to use my credit responsibly, pay on time, hit up all my card companies for CLI's
-POSSIBLY apply for a secured loan through BMO Harris (I heard from someone in similar straits as me who is now a homeowner that these do wonders for your credit, and I would assume it is good to show a variety of accounts and account types)
-GARDEN the hell out of my credit for maybe another year and walk into a car dealership with at least $3k down and get me that OAC rate!
That is, if I can resist the temptation to go for other cards. I am excited and feel like a kid collecting Pokemon cards. I think the only things I have really done "wrong" so far are to have used about $197 maximum on my CapitalOne Secured card back when my limit was $200 (I thought it was what reports on the closing date that only matters, and I never let more than 30% report), and I recently made a charge that used 33% of my credit limit with my Discover IT, though I don't plan on ever using more than that again.
I am asking for any suggestions or input, anything I should be doing differently, from you seasoned credit "hackers" out there. Thank you for your time and input!! 
-Cody
Thanks for the encouragement! Employment wise I am doing okay. I work for a major general mental health / addiction recovery services company as a Peer Support Specialist, and luckily they realize that the record often comes with the "been there, done that" territory and give people a chance to help others in recovery. And the boss at my second job literally told me "S*** happens, people make mistakes. No worries." so employment wise I am good right now. It's the housing issue. So the plan is good credit, plenty of cash for first and last month's rent and a deposit, good references, etc. Eventually, some day down the road, I want to be able to buy a house or a condo and not have to deal with some management company telling me that they rent in a "crime free" community and will not accept me, AKA we only accept people who haven't been caught yet, and just deal with a private seller and actually use my responsible credit use to get into a better living situation and thus shape a better future. I've become close to infatuated with building credit because of this. And a new car would be nice.
@Anonymous wrote:Thanks for the encouragement! Employment wise I am doing okay. I work for a major general mental health / addiction recovery services company as a Peer Support Specialist, and luckily they realize that the record often comes with the "been there, done that" territory and give people a chance to help others in recovery. And the boss at my second job literally told me "S*** happens, people make mistakes. No worries." so employment wise I am good right now. It's the housing issue. So the plan is good credit, plenty of cash for first and last month's rent and a deposit, good references, etc. Eventually, some day down the road, I want to be able to buy a house or a condo and not have to deal with some management company telling me that they rent in a "crime free" community and will not accept me, AKA we only accept people who haven't been caught yet, and just deal with a private seller and actually use my responsible credit use to get into a better living situation and thus shape a better future. I've become close to infatuated with building credit because of this. And a new car would be nice.
Welcome, and glad you've got a good job after all you went through. It's an awful shame that so many non-violent behaviors have been turned into felonies these days, but you sound as if you're making the best of a bad situation.
If you're making credit your hobby, you should sure get along well here. 
Good for you Cody. You've taken responsibility for your mistakes in the past and that's always the first step towards things getting better. Many people blame someone or something else on all of their problems. But you're doing the right thing and learning from your mistakes and moving forward. We all make mistakes...some are just bigger than others. There are many rich and famous people with criminal histories in their past, you can recover and prosper.
Good credit will help you a lot I think. Just be careful and don't get in trouble by making this too much of a hobby. Collecting cash is a good hobby to have also...having cash on hand or being able to pay for something with cash is always a good thing.
One thing I don't agree with though...and I could have just misread it...is when the poster said not to report your criminal history after it's 10 years old. I would say that depends on how the question is asked on the application. I would not suggest being dishonest on any applications, this can definitely come back to haunt you. Ciminal histories are easily verified...especially felonies...and if someone finds out you were dishonest you might burn a bridge that you didn't want burned.
Good luck!
Fox
