Best method to raise my scores?

[BM1990]

I've been paying off some delinquent accounts, but this time around it seems like my scores have now been dropping across all bureaus. Amongst all of my delinquents, I only have 2 accounts in good standing. One is a student loan and the other is a credit card with a small limit. I have 7 delinquents, 1 is a collection. 3 of those delinquents are already paid off, and it's about to be a 4th account paid off in a couple of days. Should I open a secured card to offset some of the bleeding? Should I be paying down these accounts in any particular order? Is my current file too then? Essentially, my goal is to have a decent score by July because I've had my mind set on treating myself to a decent car.  How should I tackle these accounts without tarnishing my score even more ? I know credit takes time, but I need to know the best/fastest way to improve my scores in a limited amount of time!

My scores are EXPERIAN 555, TRANSUNION 562, EQUIFAX 550.

My accounts in good standing,

1) Credit One Card $300 limit

2) U.S Dept Of Education $45,000 

My delinquents accounts,

1) Affirm $500 (PAID) 02/2021

2) Discover Card $3,129 (PAID) 04/2021

3) Capital One Card $500 (PAID) 07/2020

4) Capital One Card $4,169  (I'll be paying this next in the upcoming days)

5) Defaulted school loan for $2,600, only being reported by Experian.

6) Chase Card $2,882, hasn't reported since 07/2018.

7) MIDLAND FUNDING via law firm for $5,300 and accruing interest (COLLECTION).

[8in2years]

(1)Open 4 or 5 more secured account. Opening new acct will decrease your score a bit from the hard pulls, but as the months go by your scores will increase.

(2) Banks that offer secured cards: academybank.com(not sure, call them to verify if they require hp), tdbank.com(yes hp), discover it(yes hp), citibank(yes hp), merrick bank(yes hp), opensky(no hp) or self secured card(no hp). Each hard pull is usually around 6 points.

(3) Also look into https://www.capitalone.com/credit-cards/preapprove/ ----- Look and see if you qualify for any of these cards

(4) Look into your local credit union in your area, they also usually offer secured credit cards/builder credit card products

(5)Pay all collection/ charge offs to $0

(6) Once you open these accts, pay on time and keep your monthly reporting utilization between 3-7%. Over the months and most def at a year mark you will begin to get mail offers from credit companies

(7) I have seen ppl getting denied because the credit file is "thin" meaning  not enough positive credit cards reporting

(8) Building credit takes time and patience

(9) You mentioned getting a car . Look into capital one auto navigator, see if you pre-qualify. I have also heard of carvana and santander , but these will come with high interest rates and maybe a big down payment. The good news is you can refinance ( preferably with a credit union for the best possible interest rates) after a year of paying your car on time and your credit cards on time. Just my two cents.