I don't know where to start

BigNorm4Life · ‎11-05-2014

Hey guys

New to the site and I am seeking advice/tips on how to get my credit under control. Little backround on myself, i am 23 years of age. from Pa and I work for the US Airways/American Airlines.. I make about $29,000 a year so far. I'm starting school next month to be an Aircraft Mechanic so I can enjoy my career with aviation with a passion and to also double/quaudrople my salary

Anyways... sorry for the language... but my credit is straight up ass!

It started with me being on my own since 16.. made some bad decisions as well as having alot of bad luck but I'm just now getting on my feet... have a great job, in school to better myself, etc. And I really want to get my credit up to par so I can buy a house!! and maybe a decent car in the years to come

The good... I just bought a used car, a 2012 Chevy Cruze. My girlfriend co-signed with me and I pay $315 a month for 5 years or till I trade it in.. made my first payment of $350 a few days ago.. loan is with Santander Consumer... paln is.. well hope to refiance in 6 months

I have a Secured Visa Credit card with American Airlines Credit Union (my bank) with a limit of $300 which is maxed out due to my girlfriends car needind an emergency repair.. paid the min. payment of $25 a few days ago so I'm current

I also have a 5 year CD that I payroll deduct from my paycheck... thats about $30 a check with an current amount of $265

Now the bad... its really ugly

I have a voluntary Auto repo.. I think the amount was $9k-10k

I owe Navy federal credit union more than $5000 in credit card debt along with $500 in overdrawn fees

I owe, Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, Comcast, few banks, few hospital.... few utilities I'm all over!! lol

So I don't know where to start.... Would chapter 7 help?

BigNorm4Life · ‎11-06-2014

bump!

Anonymous · ‎11-06-2014

I am just starting my credit repair journey, so there will be better people than me in here to give you advice. But from what you are saying, I don't think Bankruptcy is the route.

I think you could chisel away at some of this debt with a little bit of patience and a lot of hard work. I would first tackle your negatives and pay off any old debt. You can make payment arrangements on larger amounts, but I learned here that you need to negotiate "Paid for Deletes" to get those negatives off your reports.....also get it in writing! I also had success calling a couple of paid collection and just asking for deletes and I saw a nice bump in my score.

I think if you just plug away a little at a time, you will recover. You are at a good age to get on track. I swear once I get my credit back, I will guard it with my life!

Good luck in your journey. I hope someone else will chime in and give you more specific advice.

joedtx · ‎11-06-2014

@BigNorm4Life wrote:
Hey guys

New to the site and I am seeking advice/tips on how to get my credit under control. Little backround on myself, i am 23 years of age. from Pa and I work for the US Airways/American Airlines.. I make about $29,000 a year so far. I'm starting school next month to be an Aircraft Mechanic so I can enjoy my career with aviation with a passion and to also double/quaudrople my salary

Anyways... sorry for the language... but my credit is straight up ass!

It started with me being on my own since 16.. made some bad decisions as well as having alot of bad luck but I'm just now getting on my feet... have a great job, in school to better myself, etc. And I really want to get my credit up to par so I can buy a house!! and maybe a decent car in the years to come

First of all we've all been there, life has a way of taking us in directions we can never expect it's when we make that choice to live a better life that you'll begin to see things happen for the better. It's gonna take some hard work, it won't cost you a dime have patience ask questions, this is a great community and people will help just be respectful and the help will come.

I myself am not an expert but will share some thoughts based on what you've shared:

Set some goals and work towards achieving them:

1. Pull your 'Free Credit Report" from annualcreditreport.com <----- Use this as your TO DO list use it to come up with a plan of action

2. Now that you have everything accounted for you know what to take on and get started

3. The good... I just bought a used car, a 2012 Chevy Cruze. My girlfriend co-signed with me and I pay $315 a month for 5 years or till I trade it in.. made my first payment of $350 a few days ago.. loan is with Santander Consumer... paln is.. well hope to refiance in 6 months <-- You need to get your score up to qualify for your OWN loan at w/low APR your credit union is best resource w/autopay to make payments on time

I have a Secured Visa Credit card with American Airlines Credit Union (my bank) with a limit of $300 which is maxed out due to my girlfriends car needind an emergency repair.. paid the min. payment of $25 a few days ago so I'm current <------ I'd recommend getting another card Like Capitol One they have a product that will unsecure in as little as 6 months pay it on time and it will BUMP your score and you'll get rewarded with a NICE credit line increase. NEVER make the minimum payment pay it off ASAP treat that credit card like you borrowed money from someone you care about just treat the CREDIT CARD like cash and you'll get there.

I also have a 5 year CD that I payroll deduct from my paycheck... thats about $30 a check with an current amount of $265 <-- Investments are good but try and setup a savings that autodraws from your payroll or checking so you don't feel it so you have a fallback for emergencies.

Now the bad... its really ugly

I have a voluntary Auto repo.. I think the amount was $9k-10k

I owe Navy federal credit union more than $5000 in credit card debt along with $500 in overdrawn fees

I owe, Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, Comcast, few banks, few hospital.... few utilities I'm all over!! lol

So I don't know where to start.... Would chapter 7 help? <----- This will likely hurt you more than help it's basically a financial death sentence for MANY years, calculate your debt and work on tackling it one step at a time. Ask questions you'll get answers.

GOOD Luck!

BigNorm4Life · ‎11-18-2014

What is a good site where I can pulled really detailed information about my credit report... is it still www.annualcreditreport.com willing to pay!

Anonymous · ‎11-18-2014

@joedtx wrote:

I owe, Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, Comcast, few banks, few hospital.... few utilities I'm all over!! lol

So I don't know where to start.... Would chapter 7 help? <----- This will likely hurt you more than help it's basically a financial death sentence for MANY years, calculate your debt and work on tackling it one step at a time. Ask questions you'll get answers.

GOOD Luck!

I would hardly call BK 'a financial death sentence' for many years. The truth is that while it DOES sit on your reports for 10 years, it really only take 2 years to recover financially from it. Many people on here report having 700+ scores at 24 months out from a BK discharge. What IS a 'financial death sentence for many years' is struggling to pay bills you can NEVER catch up with, watching them go to collections one by one, watching helplessly as lawsuits and judgments pile up and wage garnishments roll in. THAT, my friend, is a financial death sentence "for many years". Been there, done that.

A BK does not hurt you (after 24 months) nearly as much as multiple collections, judgments and garnishments.

Anonymous · ‎11-18-2014

Yes, you can pull each report for free once a year from there.

@BigNorm4Life wrote:
What is a good site where I can pulled really detailed information about my credit report... is it still www.annualcreditreport.com willing to pay!

Dj4Money · ‎11-18-2014

I would high suggest as you already have experienced; putting together a $1000 Emergency Fund. This will protect you from things like costly car repairs, plumbing issues, appliance malfunction/replacement, etc.

From there you need to tackle your negatives. As per Ramsey again, use a Debt Snowball as he calls it. Start with your smallest balances first, make sure they do not go to collections because those are the hardest to remove from your credit once they are on it. Make a deal with all your creditors; payment where the balance is high and PIF (pay in full) when otherwise possible.

Do not take out any more credit cards or loans until you get your Navy Credit Union balance under 50%.

When that happens increase the balance of your secured card up to the point you can pay all your bills with it. Use your bank's bill pay to pay the credit card whenever the statement is generated. Use the credit card to automatically pay all your bills. This frequent use will improve your score faster as time goes on as on-time payment history is important to your overall scores.

Without more disclosure I can't make more suggestions. Start with all your smallest debts first, it will give you momentum.