@peaved_about_credit wrote:
Greetings!
I have terrible FICO scores, to me terrible is 500+. I have recently opened an Orchard Bank: 300 CL; Credit One: 200 CL; Imagine: 300CL. I have two bank accounts: Bank of America & Wells Fargo.
My plan is to pay off all three credit cards then open a BofA secured and Wells Fargo secured. Using only 10% combined on the two. I have maxed out the three. Will it be wise for me to pay all three credit cards off within one month or over three months or so? I will pay off the three before I open the secured ones.
*I filed for bankruptcy discharged January 2005.
I understand how this credit thing works (now) and am very obsessed with increasing my credit scores.
Please help me on how I should pay off the three unsecured cards. Am I right on applying for the secured cards after paying off the other three?
Peaved.........
1st off you don't need to open lots of cc accounts to rebuild your credit. You have 3 right now and I would keep it that way for the time being. If you open any more low limit cards all you are doing is adding inquiries and too many new accounts and both of those things will only hurt you at least short term.
Keep your total utilization at 1-9% as was already stated. The best thing you can do for now is just make every payment on time. Within 6 mos you will bring your score up closer to 600 and the ability to get a little better group of cards....Hooters, WAMU, CCCU etc. These cards will give you much bigger CLIs and better terms than you have now. Another 6 mos with those types of cards and you can close some of your current cards and look for other forms of credit to build your score....gas cards, installment loans etc.
Remember it took you a while to mess up your credit, you won't be going from 500 to 700 in a couple months. It will take time but keeping your spending in check, your utilization low and making EVERY payment on time will help lessen your past mistakes. I went from 550s to 660-680 in about 6 mos total. You may not get that high with a BK as fast but you can easily be over 600 and back on track. Just don't give up and remember patience is your best friend right now.
