Why me?

[andawhoo]

Hello forum,

Since I was in college I do not remember my credit being good. In my entire life I think I have had 6 delinquent payements show on my credit report and most of them appeared last year when I left teh country for a number of months.

I am just curious could there be any other reason that I am not aware of to why my credit has always been bad?

I never had any deliquent payments in College and even then my credit score was about 600.

What gives?

[Brammy]

There's more to it than delinquent payments.  Were you maxing out cards?  Going over limit?  I know when  was young I used mine til they couldn't be used then just paid enough to be able to use them again.

[andawhoo]

Thanks for replying,

actually, there were to credit cards in my name, both of which I did not use, my parents claimed that they were helping me build credit. But from what I know my parents managed the cards well.

The only thing I can think of is that one credit card was a joint card with my dad, and he went bankrupt after divorce, I am not sure if that could have affected me?

But have generally been good with bill paying and have always tried to avoid late payments.

A matter of fact I am now 28yrs old and just got my first credit card, on my own terms, sime years ago closed off one of the credit cards that my parents got.

thanks

[TheNewWorldMan]

You should pull your credit report here and see what's on it.

Most likely, your score is low simply due to a lack of credit history. Remember that your score does not start high, but rather begins moderately low, and rises as you show good credit and money management--paying your bills on time, for instance.

The good news here is if you don't have any major hits, like charge-offs or BKs, you should be able to significantly improve your credit score. Keep any credit card you have now, and charge just enough to get a bill. Pay that bill on time every time (autopay if you can). Open another credit card (don't pay any more than $39 for an annual fee), and do the same--charge just enough to get a bill, and pay that bill on time. About every six to nine months, bug the card companies for an increase in your credit line--higher credit limits look good. In six to nine months, get another credit card.

A year from now, you should be looking at a significant gain. You should then be around 650 to 675. When you're up to buy a car, you might want to look at financing part of it in a simple-interest loan. Save your money, and pay an extra $100 or so each month on the loan to retire it within two years or so and keep your interest payments down. A paid car note also looks good on a credit report and raises FICO.

In three or four years, there's no reason you shouldn't have a FICO well into the 700s.