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UPDATE! - Began My "Rebuild" on the 28th of October, Already Seeing Results

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Anonymous
Not applicable

UPDATE! - Began My "Rebuild" on the 28th of October, Already Seeing Results

So I'll start this off by saying this forum has helped me tremendously, particularly this subforum.  There are some very well informed people here, along with plenty of people simply posting their results after following the guidance of those well informed people.  That said, I'll commit to updating this thread every two weeks (when I make my bi-weekly card payments haha) so hopefully someone else can get the same benefit I did.

 

Now...to the details

 

As of the 28th of October, exactly two weeks ago, the state of my scores and why were as follows:

 

  • TransUnion: 518 - 3 credit card accounts showing as closed (zero balance & zero credit limit) with no missed payments.  They were opened 10+ years ago and all show as having last reporting payment history 3+ years ago.  Also have 3 accounts in collections ($300 medical, $200 verizon & $166 capital one).  These are from 2015, four years ago.  No installment loans, no judgements/public records, no inquiries within the past 2 years.

 

  • EquiFax: 538 - 2 credit card accounts showing as closed (one with no balance or credit limit, the other with 6 missed payments and owing $148...the former having last reported in 2011 and the latter having last reported about 3 years ago).  With EquiFax however, I had 4 accounts showing in collections, the first three exactly as above and then an additional $108 collection with Progressive.  No installment loans, no judgements/public records, no inquiries in the past 2 years.

 

  • Experian: 526 - 2 credit card accounts showing as closed (one in collections...the same aforementioned capital one card, and the other simply closed and reporting as "failed to pay" for the past 3.5 years, but only having a $148 balance).  In addition to the one CC in collections, there are also the same other two accounts in collections as what shows on TransUnion.  No installment loans, no judgements/public records, no inquiries in the past 2 years.

 

In summary....

 

If you're following along, I've essentially got (on average overall) about $700 in "debt" that is all about 3.5/4 years old, essentially no payment history, no open accounts and an average "credit age" of about 7 years.  Without getting into too many details, I've been self employed for 10+ years and have had some huge successes with my business.  I own my home (bought it as a foreclosure for a reasonable price after selling a portion of my business).  I own my car.  I've got no real debt.  I've never had a reason to focus on my credit, as I was always focused on my business.  After selling off the remainder of my business last year I realize that I need to plan better now, and will leave out the catalyst for me "jumping to it" here suddenly...will just say it's romantically related (don't want to be the one bringing a "bad on paper" situation to the table).

 

My Plan...

 

I disputed everything that was in collections two weeks ago.  I haven't seen that paperwork in years, have no idea what it should/shouldn't be and figured it couldn't hurt.  I then went ahead and opened the following accounts, all at the same time:

 

  • Discover IT Secured Card (put $1,000 down for a $1,000 credit line, was approved)
  • Capital One Platinum Secured Card (put $99 down for a $200 credit line, was approved)
  • Citi Diamond Secured Card (put $500 down for a $500 credit line, was approved)
  • Bank of America BankAmericard (put $500 down for a $500 credit line, was approved)
  • SelfLender Secured Installment Loan ($48 a month for 12 months, for total payments of $576 and I get $530 in return at maturity)

I put the largest credit line on the Discover IT card because it is the only one with rewards, and I'd like to be able to actually make use of it.  I plan on keeping utilization below 30% and that means on a card with a $200 limit, I'd hardly be able to use it to go to dinner with.  So the Discover card is going to be my primary, and I'll put my cell phone bill, hulu subscription, netflix subscription and Amazon prime subscriptions on the others (one subscription on each).

 

First two week update...

 

None of the credit card accounts are showing on my reports yet, however the SelfLender loan is showing on all three of them already.  On my Experian report the capital one collection and the medical collection have been removed...whether it will stay that way I'm unsure, but they were removed.  I now only have one collection showing on my Experian report.  On my EquiFax and TransUnion report, nothing has been removed.  However, my scores across the board jumped solely from the addition of the SelfLender loan...a pretty good amount in fact (probably because I never had an installment loan before).  Here is where we're at as of November 11th:

 

TransUnion: 570 (+52)

EquiFax: 567 (+29)

Experian: 549 (+23)

 

So...feel free to follow along with my journey!  As mentioned, will keep it updated every two weeks Smiley Happy

 

UPDATE (SO SO THRILLED!!!) - 9/25/2020:

 

TransUnion: 691 (+173)

EquiFax: 697 (+159)

Experian: 689 (+163)

 

Boy what a difference 11 months makes...will apologize in advance for not updating as frequently as originally intended.  Turned out that not only was "every two weeks" not only ambitious, but largely unnecessary.  Lots of ups and downs from balances changing, and really (as everyone on this fantastic forum will undoubtedly echo) things simply.take.time.  Now...I'm not sure what to apply for or what to do next...or if I should do anything at all, and just let things keep getting better? - Any input on this would be sincerely appreciated!!

 

I ended up getting a credit line increase from Capital One when it hit the 6 month mark which was nice, as I didn't request it.  Apart from that, I haven't done anything at all since my last post here, except use and pay my credit cards and my "Self" lender loan.  Here are some screenshots of CreditKarma to see my fluctuations as I allowed balances to report, along with a screenshot of Experian showing my credit card balance fluctuations: Latest update (links to my last post on this thread containing the update, with the images): https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Rebuilding-Your-Credit/Began-My-quot-Rebuild-quot-on-the-28th-of-Oc...

19 REPLIES 19
FireMedic1
Community Leader
Mega Contributor

Re: Began My "Rebuild" on the 28th of October, Already Seeing Results - Will Update Every


@Anonymous wrote:

So I'll start this off by saying this forum has helped me tremendously, particularly this subforum.  There are some very well informed people here, along with plenty of people simply posting their results after following the guidance of those well informed people.  That said, I'll commit to updating this thread every two weeks (when I make my bi-weekly card payments haha) so hopefully someone else can get the same benefit I did.

 

Now...to the details

 

As of the 28th of October, exactly two weeks ago, the state of my scores and why were as follows:

 

  • TransUnion: 518 - 3 credit card accounts showing as closed (zero balance & zero credit limit) with no missed payments.  They were opened 10+ years ago and all show as having last reporting payment history 3+ years ago.  Also have 3 accounts in collections ($300 medical, $200 verizon & $166 capital one).  These are from 2015, four years ago.  No installment loans, no judgements/public records, no inquiries within the past 2 years.

 

  • EquiFax: 538 - 2 credit card accounts showing as closed (one with no balance or credit limit, the other with 6 missed payments and owing $148...the former having last reported in 2011 and the latter having last reported about 3 years ago).  With EquiFax however, I had 4 accounts showing in collections, the first three exactly as above and then an additional $108 collection with Progressive.  No installment loans, no judgements/public records, no inquiries in the past 2 years.

 

  • Experian: 526 - 2 credit card accounts showing as closed (one in collections...the same aforementioned capital one card, and the other simply closed and reporting as "failed to pay" for the past 3.5 years, but only having a $148 balance).  In addition to the one CC in collections, there are also the same other two accounts in collections as what shows on TransUnion.  No installment loans, no judgements/public records, no inquiries in the past 2 years.

 

In summary....

 

If you're following along, I've essentially got (on average overall) about $700 in "debt" that is all about 3.5/4 years old, essentially no payment history, no open accounts and an average "credit age" of about 7 years.  Without getting into too many details, I've been self employed for 10+ years and have had some huge successes with my business.  I own my home (bought it as a foreclosure for a reasonable price after selling a portion of my business).  I own my car.  I've got no real debt.  I've never had a reason to focus on my credit, as I was always focused on my business.  After selling off the remainder of my business last year I realize that I need to plan better now, and will leave out the catalyst for me "jumping to it" here suddenly...will just say it's romantically related (don't want to be the one bringing a "bad on paper" situation to the table).

 

My Plan...

 

I disputed everything that was in collections two weeks ago.  I haven't seen that paperwork in years, have no idea what it should/shouldn't be and figured it couldn't hurt.  I then went ahead and opened the following accounts, all at the same time:

 

  • Discover IT Secured Card (put $1,000 down for a $1,000 credit line, was approved)
  • Capital One Platinum Secured Card (put $99 down for a $200 credit line, was approved)
  • Citi Diamond Secured Card (put $500 down for a $500 credit line, was approved)
  • Bank of America BankAmericard (put $500 down for a $500 credit line, was approved)
  • SelfLender Secured Installment Loan ($48 a month for 12 months, for total payments of $576 and I get $530 in return at maturity)

I put the largest credit line on the Discover IT card because it is the only one with rewards, and I'd like to be able to actually make use of it.  I plan on keeping utilization below 30% and that means on a card with a $200 limit, (Keep it reporting less than 8.9%, not 30%) I'd hardly be able to use it to go to dinner with.  So the Discover card is going to be my primary, and I'll put my cell phone bill, hulu subscription, netflix subscription and Amazon prime subscriptions on the others (one subscription on each).

 

First two week update...

 

None of the credit card accounts are showing on my reports yet, however the SelfLender loan is showing on all three of them already.  On my Experian report the capital one collection and the medical collection have been removed...whether it will stay that way I'm unsure, but they were removed.  I now only have one collection showing on my Experian report.  On my EquiFax and TransUnion report, nothing has been removed.  However, my scores across the board jumped solely from the addition of the SelfLender loan...a pretty good amount in fact (probably because I never had an installment loan before).  Here is where we're at as of November 11th:

 

TransUnion: 570

EquiFax: 567

Experian: 549

 

So...feel free to follow along with my journey!  As mentioned, will keep it updated every two weeks Smiley Happy


Congrats on joining the credit world. You got some great starter cards. Some will graduate. Cap1 wont. Take care of them and no more apps for a year or more. You got to recover from the spree for now. In a year things will open up for better cards. Good Luck and welcome to the forums!


Message 2 of 20
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Began My "Rebuild" on the 28th of October, Already Seeing Results - Will Update Every


@FireMedic1 wrote:


Congrats on joining the credit world. You got some great starter cards. Some will graduate. Cap1 wont. Take care of them and no more apps for a year or more. You got to recover from the spree for now. In a year things will open up for better cards. Good Luck and welcome to the forums!


Thanks so much, I know it's a marathon and not a sprint but boy if I don't just want immediate results...that I know I'm not going to get, haha.  Thanks for the correction in your quote about the 8.9% and not 30%...I have read that, and to have it reiterated is helpful.  Definitely won't be opening up any cards either!  Thanks for the warm welcome Smiley Happy

Message 3 of 20
FireMedic1
Community Leader
Mega Contributor

Re: Began My "Rebuild" on the 28th of October, Already Seeing Results - Will Update Every

Its all good. Your welcome. I know its plastered all over the net not use use more than 30% of your credit line. Phoey! Banks want you to use their cards so they make money. You can rack it up. But only let <8.9% report come statement date. Which means paying before that day and let it post. Then PIF what you let post before the due date. And as a rebuilder. Use your cards all you want. But only let one report or as we call it AZEO. (All Zero except One) This will show banks your responsible and pay your bills on time and they made money in the process. Good Luck!


Message 4 of 20
leo222
Contributor

Re: Began My "Rebuild" on the 28th of October, Already Seeing Results - Will Update Every

You have a great plan...To be honest, the fact that you own your home and car outright probably puts you ahead of most people even with 800+ credit scores. The secured credit cards will obviously work to raise your scores, but as long as you just pay your cards off every month, there's not much more you really need to do, other than wait for your credit score to improve on it's own.

Message 5 of 20
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Began My "Rebuild" on the 28th of October, Already Seeing Results - Will Update Every


@FireMedic1 wrote:

Its all good. Your welcome. I know its plastered all over the net not use use more than 30% of your credit line. Phoey! Banks want you to use their cards so they make money. You can rack it up. But only let <8.9% report come statement date. Which means paying before that day and let it post. Then PIF what you let post before the due date. And as a rebuilder. Use your cards all you want. But only let one report or as we call it AZEO. (All Zero except One) This will show banks your responsible and pay your bills on time and they made money in the process. Good Luck!


Well what do you know...I've been on here reading incessantly for weeks, and didn't come across that "AZEO" acronym you just tossed out.  Made immediate sense, did a little more reading on that topic specifically and once again excellent advice.  Appreciate you coming back and adding that.  If you've got any other suggestions, please, I'm all ears!  Thanks!

Message 6 of 20
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Began My "Rebuild" on the 28th of October, Already Seeing Results - Will Update Every


@leo222 wrote:

You have a great plan...To be honest, the fact that you own your home and car outright probably puts you ahead of most people even with 800+ credit scores. The secured credit cards will obviously work to raise your scores, but as long as you just pay your cards off every month, there's not much more you really need to do, other than wait for your credit score to improve on it's own.


Thanks very much, I appreciate it!  What's funny is while I've spent the past 10 years not working on my personal credit, because of the constant reinvestment of profit from my company (web design/digital goods/internet marketing) it's almost as if the end result will be the same here.  Usually one has to work very hard on keeping great credit to get the house/car/etc and then work on getting debt free.  I worked really hard (and completely ignored my credit, obviously to my detriment as I could have focused a little harder and done both) and ended up with the house/car/etc with no debt but now I've got to work on my credit.  Just kind of funny in an ironic way, that regardless the scales are such that one way or another, you can't finish half way to the finish line...gotta work at it the whole way.

Message 7 of 20
FireMedic1
Community Leader
Mega Contributor

Re: Began My "Rebuild" on the 28th of October, Already Seeing Results - Will Update Every

Time is on your side. Just let things age and then in a year. You'll be better off to get better cards. Pay on time. No lates. Just be responsible. Thats about it in a nut shell. Smiley Happy


Message 8 of 20
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Began My "Rebuild" on the 28th of October, Already Seeing Results - Will Update Every

So I've had some pretty interesting things happen over the course of the past 3 weeks...my scores have jumped significantly, at least with TransUnion and Equifax...more on that in a minute.

 

So as I mentioned in my original post, I disputed everything.  I had the medical collection removed from both my TransUnion and Equifax reports.  In addition, my new discover card has appeared on all three reports.  So in terms of actively reporting accounts showing, I've got two: my discover card and the "Self" lender installment loan.  

 

For my Experian report, my disputes were a little more effective as everything was removed, with the exception of Verizon...this has resulted in me presently having no score at all anymore for Experian.  It simply says that I don't have enough information available for them to generate a Fico 8 score.  So that's a little dissapointing...but, it's not all bad news.

 

My TransUnion score jumped up 635...that's 117 points higher than it was when I started this whole rebuild process on the 28th of October, which needless to say I'm thrilled about.

 

My EquiFax score has jumped to 621...that's 83 points higher than it was when I started...obviously also thrilled about this.

 

This is all right now without either the new Bank of America, Citi or Capital One cards appearing on any of my reports yet, so I'm eager to see how that is going to affect things.OnPaste.20191202-041000.png

 

Message 9 of 20
FireMedic1
Community Leader
Mega Contributor

Re: Began My "Rebuild" on the 28th of October, Already Seeing Results - Will Update Every

Just remember that Credit Karma is a Vantage score and not FICO. You can get your 3 FICO's for $1 for a week trial and cancel before the trial ends. And you will still get monthly EX FICO scores for free. When you can generate a EX FICO. Then run another trial run and cancel. Keep killing it. FAKO(CK) and FICO can be up to 80-100 points off from one another. Just an FYI.


Message 10 of 20
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