Score Update: My EQ score had taken a dive to 535 (-4 pts) because I got my statement cut off wrong, so my util was high. But I just signed in and I'm now at 542, which is up 7 pts just from adding a new credit card. My other two new ones haven't reported yet, so I'm hoping I get more 7 pt bumps from those two.
Starting EQ: 529
Current EQ: 542
Moving in the right direction............. 
Starting Score: 529 EQ | 551 TU | 614 EX | 579 TU FAKO as of 1/12/14Update to document the great news regarding my lien! It's so funny that when I listed the lien, I had an "oh well, it is what it is" attitude about it. I had no idea what it was, nor did I think it mattered. I kinda just thought I had to deal with it being there until it falls off. If one of the fine members of this group hadn't said "hey, don't you think you need to know what that lien is, you big dummy?" (paraphrasing a bit lol), I never would have even given the lien a second thought. My focus was on the minor baddies because I thought I could more easily fix those.
I'm so grateful for this site. I've learned so much. It's just been an amazing journey, and I'm only about 30 days in!
Here's the story of how I tried to GW my lien to have it withdrawn and ended up getting a full refund plus interest!
So as of today, my Fingerhut card is reporting, which yielded a +3 pt bump. I was hoping for more. My CU secured card gave me a +7 pt bump, and I was hoping the Fingerhut card would as well. I still have one more card waiting to report, and I'm hoping to get a few points for that one, too.
I'm assuming the smaller increase is because of the effect the new cards are having on my AAoA. I can live with that.
Now working on perfecting my utilization. I always PIF my cards, but I'm trying to get my timing right so that I PIF before the statement cut offs, and keep that one card at 1-9%. As of the last time Capital One reported (which was my only card at the time), my util was $276 on a $300 balance. Now that I know the cut-off date, I can't wait to see what my score will look like when it reports $0. I'm hoping to get at least 10 pts for that.
WHOA!!!!! How time changes things! I just got a +14 pt boost just from getting my utilization together. I finally got the statement cut off date right, and my score went from a 581 to 595!!!!
Then, on 3/1 (as I reported here) I went from a 545 to 581 (36 pt boost) when I disputed an apartment lease. It is reporting 90 day lates every month, while also reporting "pays as agreed" and a $0 balance. I'm really praying the dispute ends in my favor, with a full delete of the TL.
That's a total of +50 pts in just 3 days (and that's before my lien is removed)!!! I am thrilled beyond measure (and still hoping the Foshee dispute boost sticks!)!
Outstanding:
- Bring Student Loans current (been saying this for 2 months, and just procrastinating like crazy)
- Wait for lien to be deleted - Done
- Wait for Foshee dispute to be resolved - Done (deleted)
- Wait for medical PFD to be deleted - Done
Really happy with my progress, but I still have a long way to go (specifically with student loans, which make me want to bury my head in the sand and come out in 20 years).
This week, both of my pending disputes had favorable outcomes resulting in a deleted tax lien and a deleted collections account (Foshee, the apartment complex). I just reviewed the credit report that EQ provided and realized that my repo is still on my credit report. About a month or so ago, the finance company verbally agreed to delete it as my wages had been garnished for almost 2 years and the account was fully paid. But clearly they didn't follow through. So I will call them on Monday morning to see what is going on.
But today, I got another +12 pt boost, introducing me to the EQ 600 Club. So next month, I will do a quarterly check of my scores to see if I've officially crossed over to the 600 Club in all 3.
Today, I called the auto company that promised to delete my repo from my credit report. A month ago, they agreed to delete, but it's still there. I spoke to the same lady and she pulled up my file and confirmed that it was deleted on their end, so I filed a dispute with EQ. We'll see how that goes. I'm hoping it will be deleted promptly and yield another 5-10 pts.
In the meantime, I gained another +7pts yesterday for reasons I don't really know lol... but I'll take it.
Current EQ score: 614. I can't wait until April so I can buy all three scores and see what kind of improvement I've had with TU. I'm not expecting much of a bump with EX because it was my cleanest report. Most of the baddies on EQ and TU weren't on EX at all.
Just popping in to give an update. As of today, my EQ had gone up to 620, but just moments ago, I got a 5 pt drop because I didn't catch one of my CC payments before the cut-off. I'm annoyed by that, but it's no biggie. I'll just make sure I get it right for next month. I am nearly 100 pts up in just 3 months. I'm thrilled about that!
I am planning to buy my EX and TU scores next week. I'm waiting because I have a pending dispute that expires on 4/16. I believe it will be dropped off (this is the auto repo that they agreed to remove, but it never came off. When I called, they said that they did submit the removal with EQ. I disputed it, so I'm expecting that it will end in my favor). Once this is settled, I will buy my scores.
I'm really pleased with my progress thus far. Still procrastinating about getting the student loans together, but I'm giving myself a deadline of FRIDAY, APRIL 11TH. I will call them no later than Friday and get this all squared away. You guys have to hold me accountable.
Here are my stats:
Starting Score: 529 EQ | 551 TU | 614 EX | 579 TU FAKO as of 1/12/14
Current Score: 620 EQ | ??? TU | 614 EX | 612 TU FAKO as of 4/08/14
Short Term Goal Score: 650 across the board by 12/31/14
Long Term Goal Score: 720+ across the board by 6/30/15
Nothing from my EX has really changed, although my new accounts may be reporting to EX, so there may be a score change.
TU is steadily climbing, though slowly, according to CreditKarma.
EQ was my worst score, and is currently my best.
Just checking in to log my current status. I seem to have plateaued a bit, with my scores fluctuating slightly just based on whether or not I remember to pay each card before the statement cut off. So far, that has proven to be my greatest challenge. I have never been a very good money manager, so what I'm going to do is put 2 of my 3 cards away and not use them regularly, pulling them out once every other month or so for a small purchase.
Since starting this journey in January, I've gained 92 pts in EQ and 32 pts on my TU FAKO but haven't really moved in the past two months. I have not purchased scores yet because I'm still having a hard time getting one account to delete as they verbally promised. They keep saying they did, but EQ is saying they didn't. I'm anxious to see if I've had any improvements in TU and EX.
I've continued making timely payments and am waiting for my lates to age out. I'm not sure I can see a way to achieve my short term goal since my scores really are not moving at all and I've cleared up nearly all of my baddies. I don't see anything happening that will get me to 650 by the end of the year. Maybe I should consider a CLI on my secured accounts? I'm expecting one on my Fingerhut soon as well, based on what I've read here. And I plan to take out an auto loan in a few months, so maybe that will help? Time will tell.
Good evening, everyone! I just wanted to update my journal. I started this journey last year around this time. At the time, my scores were 529 (EQ), 551 (TU) and 614 (EX). When I came across all the expertise and wisdom here, I followed a lot of good advice and opened 3 credit accounts (two secured, one unsecured), got a CLI on my other unsecured account, and opened a credit union account. I have a year of timely payments under my belt. I had a bunch of baddies removed, and in the next 3-4 months, my bankruptcy will be removed after 10 long years. Although I haven't reached my goal of 650 across the board by 12/31/14, I came doggone close! I'm still working on improving my scores, and I'm pleased that I'm doing better than I was when I started. I was recently pre-approved for a mortgage and am currently shopping for a home. I am planning to spend less than half of what I was approved for, and my mortgage will be about half of what my rent is now. I'm happy about that, too. My current scores are: 646 (EQ), 650 (TU) and 686 (EX).
One of my goals was to get my student loan situation worked out, and I still haven't done that.
Just wanted to share. Thanks for all your support, help, answers, encouragement, etc.