In so deep, how do I get out?

[Anonymous]

HI-I am in some serious credit repair right now, but I don't know what to do. I have read book after book and any info I can get my hands on-on how to repair my credit.

I went through a 6 year relationship and I got stuck with all the bills being 1.) the one with the great credit score and could get anything pretty much and 2.) being dumb enough to allow this to happen.

The relationship ended 2001 (yes 6 yars ago), but its left some serious scars on my credit report.

I was a single mom at the time, working part-time, getting very little child support and going to school for nursing. My first and foremost priority at the time was making sure my little girl was taken care of and she had clothes on her back and food in her mouth. Long story short, the promised help to pay the bills off never came and they became seriously late, then to collections, I lost my car (2002) amonst other things. I tried to pay my bills on time, but back then 1.) I didn't realize the importance of credit, I was only 21-22) 2.) I didn't understand how credit worked or how I should be paying on the bills. Instead of paying minimum balances to keep them at least current I thought it would be better to pay one off at a time. I settled on a lot of bills to get them paid off, but despite my credit was/is severely damaged, though its gone up quite a bit. I was down to a 424, which I was told by a friend that was basically no hope of repair. I checked it again 4 months ago and it was 587, so there was some progress, though my score still sucks!

I do have a lot of stuff paid off and just needs to roll off my credit report, but obviously this was an ongoing thing and for all my negatives to roll off is going to take another 6 months-2-3 years.

Whats the best way to get my score up to at least 100 points. I have student loans that are all in good standing, so I know that helps, but it seems keeping your accounts in good standing hardly raises your score while being late on two bills for 30 days can really drop it, how is that fair? ANY ADVICE?

[Anonymous]

I don't think there's any magic to it, you will just have to be patient. The way out is "one step at a time". It sounds like you've already seen a good climb in your score, another jump like that will put you well over 700.

It is best to always stay current on every account, as your experience seems to confirm. Late payments on your credit report hurt your score more than anything else.

[MidnightVoice]

bad credit is like a hangover - time is a very good cure

Be patient and be responsible

[Anonymous]

I guess I was wondering how is the best way to build up credit now, with such a low score and past delinquent accounts, its realy hard to get a loan, or even a cc.

I have one high interest cc with a very low limit (200) that i use and have the payment come automatically out of my account every month.

My husband and I live in a house for free on his family's ranch, but in December we have to move and how in the world will we be able to get a home loan (I think his credit is worse than mine, for other reasons).

MY husband almost had to file chapter 13, but got it dismissed because his parents helped refinance some of his equipment for him. He got stiffed on a huge project he did and took a loss of 90,000 and for any small contractor that is almost enough to do some one in. As a result he's gotten behind on his bills, our bills because we had to pay the neccessities. (diapers, food, car payment to get to work, etc).

There are still things that are reporting negative on my credit that I CAN'T pay because my husband is the one that works. I have made the decision to get a job, because I graduated as a nurse last year and I can help contribute to our finances. My husband wanted me to stay at home with our two children, but I feel for our financial situation I have no choice but to work for now. He is taking that as a blow to his ego, that he is not a good enough provider.

I feel trapped. I don't like to burden him with my bills (medical bills from our sons birth that are affecting my credit) and stuff like that because he is in some serious stress for so much other stuff because of the loss of money he should have gotten. The IRS has levied his business account already like 40,000 for payroll taxes they say he hasn't paid though he hasn't had employees in 2 years! We have no choice, but to pay the money for an attorney to try and recover this money.

Its one thing after another. I have applied for jobs at 3 different hospitals in the area, but we are going to be needing to do something come Dec.

Is there anything I can do to help make improvements in the meantime?

[Anonymous]

tebs78,

Well I've sure been where you are and back again!  I do pray that this time around I have learned to get my credit together and learned some sense!  I am on the road to recovery still with a lot of debt, but I first had to come to terms with WHY was I continuing to incur debt. 

My scores were in the low 600's in 2005.   The main thing I did to raise all 3 of my scores to the 700's were to:

Pay my bills on time

Not incur any new debt (credit cards)

Take my smallest balance with the highest interest rate and devote every penney to paying off that bill while paying the min on the rest/$10.00 more if I could

Be patient and not blame anyone or anything for my getting into debt

Stop worrying

It does seem that one is progressing slowly and the scores are not going upward, but some of your accounts don't update every month with new information.   I find it's better to look at your FICO scores every six months instead of every month to see the real changes. 

Good luck,

SandyK

[Anonymous]

tebs78,

Congratulations on your nursing degree!  That's a milestone in itself. 

There are some serious decisions that are going to have to be made and ego is going to have to be set aside.  Your nursing degree can garner some good and serious money to add to the family's finances.    Do you have a babysitting plan that can be implemented while you work?  How is the baby's health that you had to incur medical bills for? 

Sometimes we don't want to seek help from charitable organizations because we want to do it all on our own.  However, we are all vulnerable to hard luck circumstances and we can rise above any circumstances if we have the faith to believe that we can.  See a legal aid attorney and ask for assistance regarding the IRS problem.  Seek guidance from your state representative/senator regarding your need for housing as they can refer you to the appropriate agencies.  We elect these people, why not go to them when you need help?  I found the best time to ask for help is when I don't have the resources. 

The very best to you and yours.

SandyK

[Anonymous]

Well nothing is wrong with my son, its just the Insurance we had turned out to be very crappy. To many hidden deductables and left us with about 3000 in medical bills from the pregnancy.

I am having a hard time disputing my inacuracies because they say they've been proven as correct, but they AREN"T correct, so how the heck can they be proven.

Wells Fargo for instance has it reported that I was late on my student loan payments well how is this possible when 1.) look at my other student loans they were all in deferment while going to school. I tried to point this out, but they just take Wells Fargo's word for it.

Its overwhelming. I don't know how to get out of debt. My credit has actually gone down because I just checked it today from 4 months ago.  All three scores are 100 points different, now how is that possible and they all have the same information basically. They all say something different.... I want to scream and pull my hair out. How has this happend?

It says I have 22 good standing accounts and 7 bad standing accounts, so how is it the good counts for nothing apparently.

Thanks,
tebs

[Tuscani]

What are your myfico.com scores?

[Anonymous]

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tebs78 wrote:

I was told by a friend that was basically no hope of repair.

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This is SO not true.  Anyone can improve their credit.  Follow the advice of the wise sages here.  It takes time, persistence, and hard work, but you can do it!

[Tuscani]

Yep.. time is your friend. And credit repair can make you busier than a one legged man in an ass kicking contest.