Hi there, for those of you who read and replied to my post last year: Thank you so much!
I wish I was here to say things went great, but they did not. Unfortunately, I had a break down last year and ended up in the hospital and lost my job for almost a full year. The secured card I did get after raising my score racked up over $300 (2x the CL) in monthly interest (it was at it's CL of $300 when I went down) in the year, and then I was hit with a few thousand dollars worth of hospital bills in Collections.
My score is now 492 TU and 505 EQ. 491 according to CreditWise.
The good news is that while I was down, I was still able to pay my student loans thanks to my fiance, so those never went back into default/bad payment status. They are showing as Good standing.
My credit card was showing 120-149 Days late, now shows 90-119 Days late after paying around $200 of it off. Once I receive my taxes this month, I'm paying it all off.
My collections accounts are now up to 7. 6 are from hospital stays. $6,146 total. I'll be paying the small balances off, but I have three balances that are over $1,000 that I pretty much will never be able to pay.
That's just an update. I'm still very serious about rehabilitating my credit, I just wish this past year (literally 1 year since I posted) was when I was able to do it. I think I'll be able to figure things out this upcoming year, though.
All the best to you