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Light at the end of the tunnel?

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Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Light at the end of the tunnel?

OP, the collective knowledge here is immeasurable. I’d love to see the actual number of people who’ve fixed their credit from this site’s guidance. I bet it’d be jaw-dropping.

Yes, having the numbers right in front of you keeps it all real. My tables in my spreadsheet do all the calculations for me so it’s all accurate automatically in real time. If I put $80 on my Discover, I change the balance on my spreadsheet manually and it recalculates my usage percentages (for the card and overall), available balance, the amounts needed to pay it through every threshold, and so forth. It’s made account management a snap.

Yes, GW is for after the debts are paid, and PFD is what you try to negotiate before paying. PFD is ideal, but GW achieves the same result later.
Message 11 of 17
calyx
Super Contributor

Re: Light at the end of the tunnel?

Along with spreadsheets (I do love me a good spreadsheet),  I've also added in the due dates of my credit cards to their names in my YNAB budget, so that I can easily see when they're due  - I don't know if that visual would help you, but I found it super useful.  I also put them in order just to make it easy.

 

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Happy practitioner of AZE7or8or9or10 | Team Finances > FICO
Message 12 of 17
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Light at the end of the tunnel?

Right--better late than never!  Your last paragraph sums up where I'd like to be 12-18 months from now--experiencing better outcomes as a result of better choices! Gotta be patient and do the work. Thank you again : )  

Message 13 of 17
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Light at the end of the tunnel?

a $200 limit card is really low. even if you pay in full every time, you don't want the card reporting a high util. because if you max out the card your score will never improve.

 

buy everything on the card that you can, but pay it down as you go, and just before the statement cuts let it report $15. that shows you are very responsible with the card. or do it the easy way, put a recurring $15 charge on there and don't use that card for anything else. either way, make sure to set up auto-pay to avoid a chance of late payments.

 

if you avoid all late payments, get another card or two, and keep your utils low. you will start to see your score improving. your profile isn't that bad, and the late payments count for less the older they get.

Message 14 of 17
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Light at the end of the tunnel?

Calyx, I've started to do that as well, it's a great suggestion.  The more organized I am about the structure of the budget in YNAB, the better. At first, I just had buckets such as Subscriptions and just funneled anything like Netflix etc to it, but now I've gotten more granular with it and every Subscription has its own line.  Much cleaner that way--and it's caused me to kill some subscriptions and save money : ) 

Message 15 of 17
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Light at the end of the tunnel?

I was wondering that as well, how many people are putting the knowledge to use and getting on the right side of things for themselves.

 

Good call out on the formulas, will add those to my spreadsheet so it's calculating everything automatically. Thanks : )

Message 16 of 17
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Light at the end of the tunnel?

Thank you!!  I am definitely going to keep that balance at 7% or below.  And have now opened a new card with OpenSky.  Appreciate you weighing in.

Message 17 of 17
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