New to the FICO Forums...

[mauwow0682]

Hey all-

I'm new to this forum and I'm trying to figure out where to start. Its been a long road to recovery to credit recovery for me. I made horrible decisions with my credit when I was an undergradute student. Fortunately, and I say fortunately because my parents never bailed me when I got into credit card trouble. It made me grow up and realize the importantance of credit and how to be more responsible. Anyhow, I'm here with the hope that I will learn some things from everyone to get over the hump. Right now I'm not totally sure what my credit score is. Last checked according to CK it was 635....My goal is to get to 750 by next September. So please any all suggestions from you all will be appreciated.

[kittygal]

Hi --

My initial suggestion is to go to the "Education" tab at the top of the myFICO forum and read everything contained in the articles compiled there.  A wealth of information that can help you understand (as much as anyone ) what FICO is and what it isn't.

After reading the information, if you have specific questions, you can post again and the forum members will be happy to assist you in any way they can.

Keep reading the forums and you will pick up a lot of useful tips to help you in rebuilding/maintaining your credit.  A good place to start is learning the abbreviations used within the posts by other forum members.  Once you get the lingo down, it makes it easier to move forward.

Good luck and welcome to the forums!

[mauwow0682]

Thank you very much. I'll get on that! 

[RobertEG]

Yes, do a lot of reading!

In the meantime, I strongly suggest that you immediately order a free copy of your CR from each CRA by loggging onto annualcreditreport.com.  Yes, it is really, really free! Just dont order a copy of your credit scores when you go on the site....just your credit reports.  No charge, once a year, under federal law, for just getting your full credit reports on this site.. It is the most comprehensive CR you can get, anywhere.  By just reviewing these credit reports, you will learn a whole lot about how credit reporting works, and what is reported.  Then come back on this site if you dont understand items you see, or want advice on how to deal with them.

Then look for discrepancies between your personal records and the information that has been reported to the CRAs.  Clean up your CR as a first step.

What your credit score is right now is not that important unless you plan to soon apply for new credit.  First clean up your CR, then worry about the resulting credit score.