Take the myFICO Fitness Challenge 2019

[Anonymous]

Hi everyone,
I’m really looking forward to challenging myself and committing to working on my credit this year. When I started out June of 2018 I was 560’s across the board. Since then I have kept up with my student loans, “aged off some collections”, racked up on hard inquiries trying to get a car, paid on my car on time except once : 30days late, I did a bunch of PFD request or tried to get closed accounts removed no success. I’m bad at this and it discouraging sometimes. Sometimes I just don’t know what to do or where to start and I just feel overburdened. I got a secured card for 200 only using about $30 it’s the discover it secured card. I like it. My mom made me an authorized user on a card for $15000 but she almost maxed it out and it dropped me down to 550 from 605 across the board it was painful. Thinking about working with a credit fixer instead of doing it myself since I’m having a hard time getting things removed.

All in all my current scores today are 615 ex 598 trans 617 equ so there’s been some improvement.

I’m happy to be improving but I know if I committed more I’d be further than I am now. It’s frustrating and I stop fighting for it sometimes.

I always said when I became a nurse, I would treat myself to my dream car because I fought so hard to overcome poverty and hardship to pursue my degree. I’m not quite ready to buy a house being as though I have no family and I’m not looking to be nailed down to one place, so a car it is for now.

My plan is to hang out in the garden for a year and let some inquiries age off. In the meantime I’m going to continue working at my collections and COs. Re enter my student loan payments because they seem to help, I’ve always been in good standing with them. And continue paying my car and credit card on time keeping utilization low.

Pondering if my mom should make me an AU on another card with lower utilization and high balance, I’m afraid of what may happen. ( NFCU was unwilling to remove AU account after my mom took me off the account so it has utilization at 0% for me)

I know my paragraphs are long lol any tips and tricks will be appreciated. Thanks for listening.
Best wishes to all on our journey

[Anonymous]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

Ok. the past 3.5 years have been rough. Loss of business, divorce etc... Credit took a huge hit. Been working on it for about a year with no clear direction. Glad to be here and get this ship straight!!

---

May want to look at the Rebuild Credit site also should you seek tips on the rebuild.

[Anonymous]

Update. I did get that BBP! With 10k sub. I love how I can garden my personal credit while I establish my biz credit without any harm to personal score.
My goal is to let my aaoa finally rise over 1 year Wich will happen on September 1st. Get credit limit increase on my Discover, and synchrony cards before I apply for my first personal revolver from American Express. Hopefully this will give me a high SL. I did notice once I got a 5400 sl Citi rewards card my next approval for amex bbp was 5300 sl. Like they wanted to match my highest credit limit but fell short by 100$ or maybe a coincidence?
Either way I love how amex pre qualification page shows approximately what they will give for credit limit now before applying..
Once that's over 4000 I'll apply and grab 25 K MR'S. With the ED card. The way Amex works I'll have enough points for my next year's vacation before I go on my first one next month!! Only apply for amex cards with highest possible SUB. Only card I haven't had a sub for was simply cash plus but I'm glad I got it right before it was removed!!
I wish other Banks worked like amex

[Anonymous]

Happy to join! I have much to learn:-)

[Anonymous]

Hello! I'm working on improving my credit score along with saving for a home (always rented), building retirement savings and an emergancy fund. When I started a year ago, my credit score was around 550, after paying off student loans that had festered in collections due to complete lack of responsibility some 5-7 years earlier, and paying off two other debts in collections my credit score has improved by about 100 points. I've applied for credit cards (first time ever having one) and now I have 6-7 cards with a $37K spending limit. I pay off the balance in full every month, and am now looking to garden a while before applying for the Chase Bonvoy and Amazon Rewards Visa. Have really enjoyed the forums here, continue to learn every time I visit.

[SEAlifer]

Can't believe I haven't replied to this thread yet! I just got into my credit when I did my taxes this last fall. I'd been raised in a house where I was told credit cards were the devil and to never use them. Despite this many of my family members used other credit products that are potentially just as harmful if used incorrectly. I realized my scores weren't that bad and that it wouldn't hurt to work on improving them. I paid off some student loans, became an AU on my partner's card and got the Cap One Platinum in April followed up by the Chase Freedom and Discover it in May. Got denied for the Wells Fargo Propel in June due to age of accounts which was totally fair. Now I'm just gardening until I think I can go for a goal card, paying all of my bills on time, holding a utilization under 10% and reading a lot on this forum to improve my scores more and get other tips. Will probably PC my Cap One to a Quicksilver and if the Freedom Q4 category is as useless as Q2 and Q3 were for me I'll switch that one to an Unlimited. Otherwise, hoping to reach 750 by April 2020 if possible. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

I am extremely new to the credit card community and very excited to start this challenge (:

Background: My first CC was the Chase Freedom simply because I had a chase college checking account and wanted to start building my credit ASAP. I had no idea what I was doing - I still don't. But reading about the "Chase Trifecta" and things of the like, I'm extremely happy with my decision. It is my oldest line of credit, but still relatively new at only 1 year and 3 months old. 

Things took a turn when I signed up for the WF Cash Wise during a time when I was moving apartments. I purchased all of the new furniture on the card, without even making enough to be able to pay the card in full (in addition to rent/living expenses) at the time. As my income increased, the lifestyle creep hit full force.

After taking a look at my situation, I had the urge to whip myself into shape and turn things around. Slowly but surely it's happening!

In August my Equifax score was at 686 and by September 1st it was at 726! Seeing the progress makes me incredibly excited.

My goal is to maintain the momentum and to ensure I never allow lifestyle creep to throw me off course.

[Anonymous]

@Anonymous grats on your picking yourself up by the bootstraps! Seems you caught yourself in time! Score improvement is good! Lot's of info in this Forum and ask questions if you don't see what's on your mind? Usually, some one will know!

[Anonymous]

@SEAlifer  you have done well and are paying attention to your credit! There are so many things in life to learn it is easy to not pay any attention to credit. Unlike the days of old, credit sure has it's fingers in our lives: banking, insurance, lending, mortgages, student loans, employment checks, background checks (even to be a volunteer at the local school), security and more.

You know all this, I put it in here incase someone else reads this and doesn't realize.

The local school district where I Iive now requires background checks for volunteers and coaches along with admission to the school which requires badges except after hour activities.

[Anonymous]

I found this thread as I was moving across the boards...

I have been working on increasing my scores for a number of years. My hard work has paid off in getting low rates in refinancing my car, better credit cards, increased CLI's... I started with a 300.00 Cap one card 2 years ago, now I have over 60K in CLI's. My goal is to increase my score into the 800's. I need to have my accounts age, my current utilization is around 17% and over the next few months want to get that to under 8%. No new applications for the next 12 months let the inquiries fall off and make my report look prestine. Thank you for the thread it seriously helps when you write it all down and actually see your goals.