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What Caused You To Have to Rebuild?

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Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: What Caused You To Have to Rebuild?

Hindsight, That is how it worked with JCP. My account opened in April, 2000, was closed in December, 2013. Never late. Always PIF or way over the minimum and then PIF the following month. Now since July, 2016, I am back with JCP with a decent $7.2 CL. My prior account still shows up on the Synchrony/JCP website. All because of one CO. I did try to get them to re-open the original account. Didn't work.

Message 51 of 62
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: What Caused You To Have to Rebuild?

I've loved reading everyone's stories. Hubby and I were both raised by parents who didn't teach, discuss or ever mention credit and general finance. So we just stayed away from credit mostly. We had one card we barely used and a car loan. Then we had a child. Our child was born with multiple disabilities. Finding adequate day care quickly became a challenge. Long story short we decided that one of us would need to stay home. To make that work we downsized into a cheeper rental, closed our card (stupid idea lol) bought used clothing, payed off our car etc...

so for 15 years we lived super frugal on cash. Bought junky cars with cash from tax refunds and had zero credit scores. Now... due to another long story we are in a position to buy a home so I started research for that, which led me here and now you all are stuck with me 😂
Still haven't bought a home just yet, but we have credit scores now thanks to the helpful folks on this site.
Message 52 of 62
HindSight_20_20
Frequent Contributor

Re: What Caused You To Have to Rebuild?

@ScoreJunkie

"raised by parents who didn't teach, discuss or ever mention credit and general finance."

^^^^This^^^^

If all of us on this thread could just understand how much of a role this statement has played in the majority of life's and 'Rebuild Experiences' here ... wow just wow!

 


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Message 53 of 62
simplegirl
Valued Contributor

Re: What Caused You To Have to Rebuild?

Trying to help my mom and older sister. Job not promoting as quickly as they claim.







Starting Score: 494 503 521
Current Score: 503 507 507 2/19
Goal Score: 680


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Get First Home in Summer 2025
Message 54 of 62
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: What Caused You To Have to Rebuild?

I just have never been proactive enough. My income is the problem, I have a 2 year degree and have been in my field for 7 years but still only make $23k per year. I married a Canadian and neither of us understood how immigration worked- ended up having to live on opposite sides of the border and neither of us made enough to live without a 2nd income. I filed for bankruptcy back in 2008. Recession hit us really hard, spouse was finally on the US side, but, we both worked in the same warehouse that closed. Ended up moving back in with my family across the country. It took me years to find any job again and spouse had a crappy job making $10 an hour. He hadn't filed for bankruptcy because he wasn't a citizen, so, we had $10k plus in credit cards in his name when we managed to close on a house and get out of my parents place. We bought near the low, closed on a house with only him working and making about $12 an hour. I finally got fulltime work again in 2015, before that I was working several part time jobs. 

 

What I SHOULD have done is gone back to school. I'm finally fixing that now, I had a 4.0 in high school, a 3.6 GPA for my associates degree. There was no reason why I couldn't have made more of my life. Since December I've tested out of 32 CLEP credits and applied for college, so, hopefully I will finally clear $13 an hour for the first time in my adult life. 

 

My family somewhat understood credit, but, didn't care about education at all. They are actually upset with me for wanting to go to college. After the Pell Grant, I'm only going to have a student loan for around $2k to finish a degree in accounting. They think that is too much to owe on a college education. lol My dad actually believes that you can get hired at a company like Deloitte as a janitor and eventually work your way up.. But, he hasn't worked for anyone but himself in a longtime, so, has no idea how the real world works. I've been trying to work my way up the ladder without a degree for 20 years now, hasn't worked yet. Think I'll get the piece of paper this time. 

Message 55 of 62
bizarrocreditworld
Valued Contributor

Re: What Caused You To Have to Rebuild?

I agree with everybody else that this is a great thread.

 

When I lost my job in 2006, I had a bunch of sub-prime cards (Orchard, Household, Premier and Providian) plus MBNA, First Union (which became Wachovia), Capital One and American Express. Nothing above $2,500 CL. I sold my stock options in Citigroup at $58 a share and received back pay and severance so I thought I would be OK for a while. Was out of full-time work until 2014, which meant I burned everybody.

 

Fast forward to 2016. Applied for an Amazon card. Declined. Saw a mailer I got for Capital One. Applied and approved for a $500 SL with Credit Steps. A couple of months later, I was approved for Discover IT with a $3,000 SL, just in time to help buy furniture for the move to my current place. (By the way, this is where my screen name comes from, especially since I found out my credit scores were in the 610s when I was approved for the Discover). In the summer of 2017, all the baddies fell off or was paid off and my score shot into the 700s, where they have been since. I now have some insane credit limits (up to $50,000 on a PenFed Promise Visa and the same on a Pottery Barn card plus multiple Visas and Mastercards over $20,000) thanks in part to the scores and thanks in part to the huge jump in income my wife and I have had.

 

I had some knowledge of credit, but my wife had zero since her family did not talk to her about finances. She started out with a $600 Macy's card just before I got the Capital One. She asked me to look at her credit early last year and we saw something wrong with her report involving a home equity loan her parents took out in 2003 that her name was on (which is also how we found out her parents have been living in an supposedly financially healthy state for the last 20 years. They still owed 75% of the home equity loan in 2018). Got that cleared up in the next 24 hours and waited for her final baddie to fall off, which it did a couple of months ago. Her scores are now also in the 700s, but she isn't nearly as involved in the credit game as I am, but she has a good set of cards. The Macy's is now at $12,000, and she added an Macy's Amex to it recently, plus she has a $18,500 Discover It and a bunch of $5,000 plus cards from major lenders. Her only CU card is a $9,000 NFCU Platinum. Her only issue is the $300,000 in student loans she owes (PhD in social work from Fordham University), but she has no problem making the monthly payments (about $3,000).

 

Since the rebuild we have a PIF ASAP policy on our cards, leaving a couple with a balance each month. It keeps the scores high and avoids any credit problems.

No credit news is good credit news!
Message 56 of 62
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: What Caused You To Have to Rebuild?


@HindSight_20_20 wrote:

Without getting too personal I'd like to know what caused 'you' to find yourself rebuilding 'again' with regards to credit FICO's and accounts?

For me is it was a divorce - between loans for Lawyers, split in assets, driving distance for meet-ups/drop offs etc. both saving and CC's were hit pretty hard. 

 

While I dropped to the 500's from the mid 600's (best avg. score for me was 650ish across the board) so I've begun rebuilding and it's easier now than it was before because of all I've learned here previsously.

 

I think the hardest (must frustrating) part is the lenght of time negative entries remain on your profile for all potential creatitors to see. Thank goodness for Secured CC's from some nice banks with graudating terms! Whew they are helping my Fico's quickly number wise anyway - 

 

Curious as to the major top 3 or 5 reasons people find themselves rebuilding... 


Welp for me it started as a stroke and an acute asthma attack that put me ICU. Both were in short order. Man I am gald to be alive but wow did they ever charge me for it.  

 

I found out the hard way that even with good insurance you can end up coming out of pocket a lot. One test that BCBS rejected was a test combo Brain/Sleep Test that cost over $20k. We did out best with trying to keep everyone appeased with payment plans but it got to be too much. Then the water heater went out and I called Wells Fargo to see if I could skip a mortgage payment because I was going to be short less than $100. BIG mistake HUUGE! They told me that they could help me out but that I had to be at least 4 months behind in my mortgage before they could. And it had to be the drugs I was on cause I fell for it hook line and sinker. The bigger mistake was paying down some debt to help with the monthly payments going out to make it easier.  Wells Fargo to the rescue .. NOT!  We had our fence blown down by Hurricane Harvey and was told by WF that I qualified for diaster assistance. and that I could skip 2 months of payments.  But that I would have to have the 2 months paid by the end of the disaster period which was Dec 1, 2017  but not to worry about it since I was working with their Mortgage assistance team.  

Long story short, Dec 1st we got a demand letter for the entire arrears from a WF attorney. I called WF and they said your account is in foreclosure and to call their attorney. I had talked to an attorney previously about BK but did not want to do it.  Even after the CLDs from the reported late mortgage payments. So I called her got her paid and filed for BK on Dec 7th. I filed for a Chapter 7 per the attorney and the WF atty filed a motion to bypass the automatic stay. I got my arrears paid in full Jan and the mortgage reaffirmed (yes, I reaffirmed my mortgage against my atty advice -- something doesn't fit right with a "pay and stay")

The damage was done from the BK7 filing, and even though I did not feel right we went a head and completed the Chapter 7 . My scored dropped down to the mid 500s and my one of my wife's dropped down into the 490s. We were devastated but we trudged forward and rebounded A LOT faster than I ever thought.  I am still in the 690s trying to break 700. Between the 2 of us we have  7 credit cards, all unsecured with CLs totaling just under 12k and paid in full monthly. And one secured USAA card. Bought a new 2019 Equinox at 4.79% and building our savings accounts back up. 

 

I never thought I would be in the above situation. But I was and I have been blessed tremendously by the man upstairs! I still have the stigma of the BK7 and it holds us back a lot but not in anyway we can't survive. I ended up losing 2 bank accounts a CU and my Navy account becuase they were included. However my wife was able to keep her accounts. Navy was good to me and I hated including them. I still have my USAA account and building a good relationship with PenFed. Only time will heal these wounds. 

 

I started out with a Secured Amex from USAA and a $300 CapOne QS unsecured card currently at $500 from credit steps. I then got a Discover secured card at $500 and then a CapOne QS1 with at $3,000 SL and Discover then graduated me early at 8 months and gave me a $2000 CL and that is where I am at 13 months after filing and 1 month from my year anniversary of the discharge. I also picked up an OLLO card and a Khols card. 

 

The prior negatives hurt me but not as bad as the BK7 that will be there for 9 more years. I also have a 7 month gap in my mortgage payment history preceeded by 3 late payments (all 3 are showing as 60 days late). So how I have scores like we do currently is beyond me. 

 

I apologize for the long wall of text but the moral is don't trust your mortgage lender/servicer and save save save. 

Message 57 of 62
GApeachy
Super Contributor

Re: What Caused You To Have to Rebuild?


@HindSight_20_20 

This was a good thread.  

My Take Home Pay Don't Take Me Home
Message 58 of 62
calyx
Super Contributor

Re: What Caused You To Have to Rebuild?


@GApeachy wrote:

@HindSight_20_20 

This was a good thread.  


Agreed!

Happy practitioner of AZE7or8or9or10 | Team Finances > FICO
Message 59 of 62
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: What Caused You To Have to Rebuild?

Same old same old. Young and dumb and took too long to figure simple stuff out.
Message 60 of 62
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