@fashionj76welcome to this part of the forum. Great place to open the door.
Will say that credit building and repair is sometimes slow and frustrating. As I started from the BK7 level I would improve and then plateau. Drove me nuts ... Others on this Forum reminded me credit is not a race and patience is the doctor.
Now with that in mind your quandry over a home mortgage will likely be better helped by talking to the folks in the "Mortgage" thread (some good info over there). As to credit bureaus and scores there is a thread on credit scoring and there are different folks like @Anonymous that have lots of background in that area.
Feel free to explore and ask questions? The Forum has many very experienced people available! 
I have been keeping a low profile here lately but today was a good day. My NFCU nReward graduated today to a cashRewards CC with a CLI from $300 to $2,000.
Also, I was able to do a PC on my Cap One Platinum to their QuickSilver CC. The card is presently in process of a $250 CLI from their CreditSteps program.
My scores have been holding but recently took a few points hit resulting from my newer cards in May(Discover Secured) and June(BVAA ClearPoints). CL total at $5,750 once the $250 Cap One CLI is approved.
Now have to decide on what's next...
I figured now would be as good a time as any to start to reduce my cards. I have been thinking and talking about it for a while. So, I closed my Lowe's card today (4.3k). It was offset by a CLI on Citi TYP for most of the available credit (4k). I then found out I could reallocate my Amex lines from a mod on another post. So, I gave that a whirl too. I was able to reallocate 11k of 12.4k from my ED to the BCP ( my most used card). I will close the ED once the BCP statement closes at the end of the month. I just want to make sure everything stays intact. So that will be 2 down. I am contemplating one more. It was going to be the Citi DC but I ended up getting an additional CLI on that one for 2k which will cover the remaining 1.4k I couldn't reallocate from the Amex ED. I may just see how it goes with what I have done so far. It will be more manageable for me. The great thing is I made progress. I wasn't feeling it earlier this month. This made me feel like I achieved something on my list and boosted my spirits some.
**Edited that I went ahead and closed the Amex ED card. I read some posts that the reallocation requires approval and can be denied. So the fact that they let me do it gave me some ease.**
Hi everyone!
Sitting in the garden with my first credit card......discover it cash back. Happy to have made it through the first month ok, even though last night I checked the amex pre-qual and was prequalified. I sat there looking at the page for awhile. But I finally closed it without having applied.
My plans were to sit for a year baby'ing my disco maxing out my rewards putting good spend on it. Is this the best move? Or should I have another card and split my spend? Does AZEO really work? I really want to refinance my truck soon and would like to maximize my scoring. Any suggestions?
First off, a huge thank you to the whole myfico community for all their contributions to the boards l, without them i wouldn't be where I am currently at!
Huge jump for late July, August. Got approved at my local bank (umb) after I tested the waters with applying only after I gardened for a long time. And on my birthday 7/24 they approved me for 10k signature card. Then I became an authorized user on my fiancée same card with them for 16k. Quite a big leap in the credit world for me. Also called and closed credit one bankcard, they tried everything in the book to get me to stay including reducing my apr and offered me a measly 200 CLI...what a joke.
Anyways I'm currently debating closing my oldest, bucketed capital one card as well. Its served its purpose and will not ever budge and I'm tired of waiting 😴 might as well get some usage out of that deposit is how I see it!
Thata about it for August now back to the garden I go for a while 😃
Again, thanks to all
Starting Score: 560
Pretty happy for the most part!!! Ex fico score is a 620 TU 594 and EQ 574 which makes me feel great being the fact just in may my scores had bottomed out. My vantages are hovering in the 554-574 ranges which is ok they are toughh to level up in the begining. Definetly got some work to do and I applied for 2 more accounts and got approved. So i think after the second one the next goal is to pay off a card and let it settle, and start paying down a collections which in turn should help the scores out a bit. Very pleased overall with what August has brought for me and cant wait to see Septembers surprises. If anything I have had gains steadily since May and it truly feels great for once!!!
@Anonymous wrote:This is my first post! Hi everyone! My goal is to get my scores back to above 700s, but I took two years away from work to go to nursing school and finish my degree so I put my household through a bit of financial strain. I graduate this week and I've been working at my new job for the past two months. This month I got my total credit utilization below 30% but I still have some large cards to tackle balances on. I'm getting a substantial raise at work as soon as I pass my NCLEX-RN so I'm looking forward to better financial health soon! My issue is a shopping addiction and a point in my life where I would get any store card imaginable just because I could. I've reformed myself, but I really still have 10 accounts and I'm afraid to close them due to age of accounts.
My August scores are:
Equifax 615 (and it NEVER changes)
Transunion 660
Experian 637
All of my goals are Fico Score 8 750. It's a lofty goal but I'm here to put in the work, read, learn, and kick butt.
Welcome to the Forum. You have certainly been busy! Congratulations on your major life achievements ... sure it must feel great.
As to the many 'how tos' of credit, they are available under various threads of the Forum. Also, please feel free to ask questions as there are many very knowledgeable posters who will offer information and suggestions that will ease the credit walk (such as closing cards or not?).
Credit is a slow process at times and can be frustrating but the outcomes make it worth the wait.
You are in a great place to continue your credit walk ... welcome