@Anonymous wrote:So, I recently went through a divorce and my credit took a hit. I am back on my feet when it comes to my income and I'm wanting to improve my credit score (in the 550 range now) in order to refinance my home and get it into my name. It has always been in my ex husband's name, I got the house in the divorce and the debt along with it, but nobody will lend to me so it sits in his name while I make the monthly payments and increase his credit not mine!!! Anyways, my question is this...I have 2 student loans with no missed payments (around $2000 total, at 4% interest), 4 credit cards at around a 74% utilization rate, and 4 accounts in collections. I'm using the snowball idea of paying off the smallest items first and working up. Once I get to my student loans is it smartest to pay them off or continue to pay them monthly so I have them showing good payments each month? I am hitting my collection accounts first because I know those are really hurting my credit and they should be paid off by November. I'm just curious with the student loans what the best route would be. Of course it would be nice to be totally debt free, but if keeping them on my credit would help my score I don't mind doing that and paying the minimum payment which is $53 a month. Thanks for any advice you might have.
Good morning. Do a little reading first, so you can associate certain things into your situation. Knowledge is power here.
After you're done, list the CA's, and their age/amounts, along with the active credit cards, utilization rate individually, and especially their APR.
IMO, I'd tackle the "live debt" first, depending on the exact situation of the CA's status.
