Greetings from the 400 club [TU 461, EQ 469, EX 476]. This is my first post. I’ve been lurking for a while, so it’s time I finally contributed a little.
Thank you to everybody who has taken the time to share. What an incredible, priceless resource this forum is. Everyone’s been so supportive and transparent here that I was inspired to share my story, too. Hopefully it will inspire somebody else out there like others have inspired me.
As an entrepreneur/creative-type, my credit was never the best to begin with, but the last 18 months have been brutal.
My wife had a violent nervous breakdown after the birth of our son. I eventually had to get a restraining order to keep her from getting arrested or committed. I work from home, so my business crashed, and so did my FICO score. We separated because it became impossible to make any money in that environment. She filed for divorce and made it difficult at times to see my son, just as he was learning to talk.
I lost 10 months of watching him grow that I will never get back. I waited a long time to have a child, and I love my new son more than anything, so not being able to wake up with him and see him and feed him and play with him every day like I used to has just been ripping me apart.
Then late last year I was diagnosed with early onset Parkinson’s. (It’s the degenerative neuromuscular disease that Michael J. Fox has and Muhammad Ali had.)
Although meds can help with symptoms, there is no cure. From what they tell me, it looks like I have the “atypical” kind, which means I might live a long time with it or experience a significantly reduced life expectancy - nobody knows for sure.
One thing I do know is that I refuse to feel like a victim. We can’t control everything that happens to us but I believe that most of us have control over how we choose to respond. I’ve decided I’m going to recognize this challenge as an opportunity to grow and improve and bounce back bigger.
I’m going to use everything that’s happened to make sure I end up better than I would have if it hadn’t happened. That way, it’s a net positive and it becomes a gift. Last month I finally got on some meds that manage my symptoms enough so that now I can finally start to tackle this credit disaster. I’m going to rebuild my credit so that it’s better than it ever was before.
I’m doing it to be the best possible father I can be for my little boy and to be able to spend as much time with him as I can. He deserves it. He’s so amazing. I miss him so badly that sometimes it feels like I can’t breathe.
So if you’ve ever been through your own dark night of the soul, or if you’re fighting through it right now, believe me… I know how you feel. It’s been the biggest struggle of my life just to keep my head on straight and not give up on believing in a better tomorrow, but he needs me to be strong right now, so that’s why I’m here. For him. You just need to find your why and then you’ll figure out your how.
Tomorrow is what we make it, so my goal is straight 740’s across the board within 28 months. Assuming my lowest score [TU 461] doesn’t get any lower, that’s going to require an increase of 279 points.
Whenever that seems nuts, I just remember the saying that every mighty oak tree was once just a little nut that stood its ground against the strongest winds. So maybe being a little nut is a good thing in this case. Maybe it’s what’s required.
Besides… 28 months x 30 days = 840 days. When you break it down that way, 200 more points only requires adding a third of a point per day, averaged out. Seems doable. They put a man on the moon, right?
If this was easy then everybody would be doing it, but if it was impossible, then nobody would be doing it. And if you look around this forum, you’ll see that’s not the case. A lot of people are doing it, so you and I can do it, too. It’s just a discipline, a craft like any other that requires respect, study, practice and patience to eventually master.
I can do that. One day at a time, with the wealth of information and support and experience available here, step by step, we can all surely do that.
There’s a poem called “The Sundial” by by Henry Vandyke:
“The shadow by my finger cast, Divides the future from the past.
Before it, sleeps the unborn hour, In darkness, and beyond thy power.
Behind its unreturning line, The vanished hour, no longer thine.
One hour alone is in thy hands, The NOW on which the shadow stands.”
Action is the magic word. One of the first steps I’ve taken is to pull my 3 bureau scores. If you haven’t done that yet, that’s priority #1.
If you’ve been procrastinating it, I get it, but just grab the bull by the horns, bite the bullet, get your report, and you’re halfway there. Avoiding it is worse than just facing it and getting it over with, believe me. Clarity is key. That act alone instantly puts you back in control.
I’m posting my scores below and will continue to update my progress. They say to turn your mess into your message, so that’s what I’m doing… turning all these lemons into a lemonade stand. I’d love to hear your story and keep up with your progress, too.
I’ve gotten so much out of this community. I hope this pays it forward a little bit.
It’s never too late to be who you might have been. Let’s all stick together, be strong, remain positive, take action and stay focused. Like many have already proven here and on other boards… together, we can do it.
Any advice from you 600 & 700 club long-haulers out there on the best ways to go from 461 to 740 in 28 months? Any major do’s or don’ts starting out?
Thanks in advance.
My June 2016 FICO Report Summary:
TU 461 [1 pos + 8 neg accts | 0% util | 0 inquries]
EQ 469 [0 pos + 7 neg accts | 0% util | 2 inquries]
EX 476 [1 pos + 5 neg accts | 0% util | 3 inquries]
No credit cards, auto loans, or mortgage yet
By the way, last week I heard my son call me “papa” for the first time. Hang in there… it gets better. Just keep your eyes on the prize and don’t give up. ;-)
