Hello,
I have been browsing the forums for the past couple of months and they have been so helpful. I had a question about rebuilding my credit and would love some input! When I was about 18-19 I accumulated a bunch of credit cards and it became an addiction. Eventually, I was spending beyond my means and defaulted on some of my cards. As of now I have (6) collection accounts still unpaid, (14) PAID collections, 2-5 inquiries depending on the credit bureau. No judgements or bankruptcies. Luckily, I was in a position where I could still keep some of my payments up to date and I have paid off some of those cards this week. My good standing accounts are as follows:
Capital One CL $1170, $0 balance. (Had two capital one cards and was able to consolidate the credit limits after paying them off)
Discover CL $1500, $0 balance
Amazon Chase CL $500, $380 balance
Best Buy Credit Card CL $500, $370 balance
Target CL $400, $380 balance
Fingerhut CL $1500, $434 balance
Victoria's Secret CL $650, $450 balance
I'll be paying off my remaining credit card debt in May and only using them to pay bills and groceries and paying off in full.
My questions are, should I apply for a secured Discover card to keep the momentum with credit building? Or do I have enough credit cards to rebuild? My husband and I are hoping to buy our first house next year and are trying to build scores quickly. Is there anything else I should be doing that would help? I also need some guidance on my husband's credit but I figure one step at a time. I appreciate anybody's input and willingness to read my post 
Current Scores:
Experian 600, Transunion 598, Equifax 580
@Anonymous wrote:Hello,
I have been browsing the forums for the past couple of months and they have been so helpful. I had a question about rebuilding my credit and would love some input! When I was about 18-19 I accumulated a bunch of credit cards and it became an addiction. Eventually, I was spending beyond my means and defaulted on some of my cards. As of now I have (6) collection accounts still unpaid, (14) PAID collections, 2-5 inquiries depending on the credit bureau. No judgements or bankruptcies. Luckily, I was in a position where I could still keep some of my payments up to date and I have paid off some of those cards this week. My good standing accounts are as follows:
Capital One CL $1170, $0 balance. (Had two capital one cards and was able to consolidate the credit limits after paying them off)
Discover CL $1500, $0 balance
Amazon Chase CL $500, $380 balance
Best Buy Credit Card CL $500, $370 balance
Target CL $400, $380 balance
Fingerhut CL $1500, $434 balance
Victoria's Secret CL $650, $450 balance
I'll be paying off my remaining credit card debt in May and only using them to pay bills and groceries and paying off in full.
My questions are, should I apply for a secured Discover card to keep the momentum with credit building? Or do I have enough credit cards to rebuild? My husband and I are hoping to buy our first house next year and are trying to build scores quickly. Is there anything else I should be doing that would help? I also need some guidance on my husband's credit but I figure one step at a time. I appreciate anybody's input and willingness to read my post
Current Scores:
Experian 600, Transunion 598, Equifax 580
I would apply for a second Capital One card. Sock drawer all those store cards. How old is your most recent late payment?
Try PFD's on the unpaid collections. GW letters on the paid ones. Be persistent. Keep calling/letters/emails at least once a month.
Pay off all your balances, as you planned. Keep one card reporting 1-9% balance on credit report for max points.
I would not apply for anything else until your report is cleaned up and not at all if you are getting a mortgage in 6m-1y.
