@Anonymous wrote:my wife and I are starting to rebuild our credit after a long illness that cost us our business, house etc.
my question is should we get seperate secured cards and possibly secured loans or does it really matter? would of course be easier on the bank account to get joint
IMHO, every person should establish their own credit history. Simply because if something happens to one person the other will be adversely affected as well.
Wife forgets to pay a credit card bill in both your names and it affects you both. Husband dies and wife is an authorized user on credit cards and she has to start over and build her own credit.
I am sure other MFers more versed in the finer points will chime in.
Welcome to the board 
You want to establish separate credit identities this can be done with individual cards. This doesnt mean that you cant get joint accounts where both of you are responsible for repayment of the charges.
You want to establish separate credit identities this can be done with individual cards. This doesnt mean that you cant get joint accounts where both of you are responsible for repayment of the charges.
@Anonymous wrote:thanks for the replies, not worried about wife not paying a bill on these I will be in charge of them as they are only for rebuilding credit and no other purpose but if it helps the credit score we will get seperate accounts for sure.
One other question better to get a couple of secured CC or one secure cc and a builder loan?
Thanks
Ideally, you would want 3 revolving accounts and one installment -- not personal! -- loan reporting in order to maximize your Fico scores. Try to get at least 3 secured cards and one credit-builder loan. 
@Anonymous wrote:thanks for the replies, not worried about wife not paying a bill on these I will be in charge of them as they are only for rebuilding credit and no other purpose but if it helps the credit score we will get seperate accounts for sure.
One other question better to get a couple of secured CC or one secure cc and a builder loan?
Thanks
Ultimately, what you need to improve your FICO scores are three open credit cards in good standing and one open installment loan in good standing such as a car, home, student, personal, share secured, or credit building loan. This combination is what the myFICO score theorists here have determined is what you need for optimal credit building and FICO score. You can have more CCs and more installment loans, however, this will not increase your FICO scores.
Next, you will need to pay in full all of your credit card balances each month, before the posting date, except one. This is called the All Zero Except One (AZEO) method. The one credit card you allow to post a balance needs to be less than 8.9% of the credit limit of the card. So using one card each month to buy lunch, letting it report and then paying in full will maximize FICO scoring.
The installment loan will have its greatest impact on your FICO score when the amount owed is at its smallest such as a few months before the loan is paid in full.
@Medic981 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:thanks for the replies, not worried about wife not paying a bill on these I will be in charge of them as they are only for rebuilding credit and no other purpose but if it helps the credit score we will get seperate accounts for sure.
One other question better to get a couple of secured CC or one secure cc and a builder loan?
Thanks
Ultimately, what you need to improve your FICO scores are three open credit cards in good standing and one open installment loan in good standing such as a car, home, student, personal, share secured, or credit building loan. This combination is what the myFICO score theorists here have determined is what you need for optimal credit building and FICO score. You can have more CCs and more installment loans, however, this will not increase your FICO scores.
Next, you will need to pay in full all of your credit card balances each month, before the posting date, except one. This is called the All Zero Except One (AZEO) method. The one credit card you allow to post a balance needs to be less than 8.9% of the credit limit of the card. So using one card each month to buy lunch, letting it report and then paying in full will maximize FICO scoring.
The installment loan will have its greatest impact on your FICO score when the amount owed is at its smallest such as a few months before the loan is paid in full.
AZEO is great for re-builders!
IMO only if it relieves you of making payments every month as you have made a bunch in advance and the new account/inquiry hit is not too large. Revolvers are where you are going to get most of your Fico action.