Credit Scores

[Anonymous]

My next step is to go into my bank and talk with a banker one on one.  Its just upsetting that I have worked my butt off all these years and not realizing that by having everything in my husband name would be a BAD thing.  Now needing another car and with so much on his credit he doesn't qualify very easily anymore.  Thanks everyone for all the information, sometimes just need to vent and find out what others thoughts are on the subject.

[Anonymous]

Does your husband have a good credit record?  Maybe he could co-sign for you?  My parents, who don't have very good credit, didn't have a problem cosigning on my lease or car loan while I was in college. 

[haulingthescoreup]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I'm not trying to argue your point, I'm just arguing that fact that I'm treated like someone that doesn't pay their bills.  I have had plenty of utilities bills in my name, all in good standing, but not once have I seen those reported.  So I start just like as if I was getting out of high school and getting on my own and getting a secured credit card or co-signer (which who can find one of those these days???).  Its just frustrating that they look at a # and not what is actually on my report.  We all pay the price due to the banks and finance companys lending out to anyone and they didn't care about a report or #, guess I should have jumped in the band wagon when everyone else did. 

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But you're not. You don't have negatives on your reports, so you're not being treated like someone who doesn't pay his/her bills.

You're being treated like someone who's a mystery.

Imagine your son or daughter bringing home a new romantic interest, and this interest fits into one of these categories:

1. His/her face is on the "wanted" posters at the post office, his/her car is full of speeding tickets and empty vodka bottles tossed on the floor, he/she has some interesting scars all over his/her body, and he/she insists on having the curtains closed and doors locked when visiting.
2. He/she is a member of a close friend's family, and you've known him/her since diapers.
3. You don't know anything at all about him/her, and neither does anyone else that you know. Seems to have nice manners and all, but...

As a slightly nervous parent, how would you feel about these various categories?

Unfortunately, in credit land you're number 3. Banks are running scared these days, and they do not take chances on someone without a track record.

If you're interested in moving from #3 to #2 (not to #1 please, lol), go ahead and build up a good reputation in the credit world. By far the easiest way is to join a local credit union and get a CC and/or loan, secured if necessary, from them. Let it report for 6 months, and there you go, you have a history. There won't be much to it, and ideally you'll add to it, but it's a start.

[haulingthescoreup]

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@Anonymous wrote:

My next step is to go into my bank and talk with a banker one on one.  Its just upsetting that I have worked my butt off all these years and not realizing that by having everything in my husband name would be a BAD thing.  Now needing another car and with so much on his credit he doesn't qualify very easily anymore.  Thanks everyone for all the information, sometimes just need to vent and find out what others thoughts are on the subject.

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Sorry, I didn't realize that there was a second page on the thread when I replied just now. Good luck with your visit with the banker. You're certainly not the only person who was being responsible with money, not realizing that it meant that you were off the grid when it came to credit.

[Anonymous]

Its really hard now a days to find someone to co-sign due to the market.  I'm just going to do what I have to in order to get stuff on my own.  I have depended on my husband's credit for far too long, obviously, and no more.  I just hate the idea of giving a deposit for a credit card and my money just sitting in their bank and they are getting interest off of it, not to mention my apr, and I get no interest on my own money.  Also eventually I'll get to where I want to be but how bad will I take a hit when I close the secured credit card?

[Anonymous]

I should show this thread to my girlfriend.  She refuses to apply for a single credit card and I have no idea why. 

[Anonymous]

So is it easier to get a credit card thru the credit union vs a regular bank? Or would I have to do the secure credit card thing also.  I'm going to talk to my bank and find out what I can do there.  Those other secured credit cards ie. public savings bank etc. don't remove you from a secure to an unsecured after so long and I'd really like to find one that does.

[Anonymous]

No worries.  Thanks for all the information.  It has helps "calm" me down about the whole issue  Thank you to everyone that has replied to my "anger" post

[haulingthescoreup]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Its really hard now a days to find someone to co-sign due to the market.  I'm just going to do what I have to in order to get stuff on my own.  I have depended on my husband's credit for far too long, obviously, and no more.  I just hate the idea of giving a deposit for a credit card and my money just sitting in their bank and they are getting interest off of it, not to mention my apr, and I get no interest on my own money.  Also eventually I'll get to where I want to be but how bad will I take a hit when I close the secured credit card?

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I thought that some secured cards do pay you interest on your deposit, although heaven knows, no one is paying much in the way of interest these days. (Well, other than consumers, but that's a whole 'nother topic.)

As long as you open a non-secured CC before closing the secured one, you shouldn't take any hit, and really, not even then as long as you don't let high balances due report on your statements. There are lots of ways to make the system work for you, and if you read around here, especially over on the Credit Cards board, you can pick up some very useful tactics.

We're all crazy-busy these days, I know, and it's a pain to have to play another little game like this, but at least we know a lot of the rules of the credit game, and we can become pretty successful players without much work.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Its really hard now a days to find someone to co-sign due to the market.  I'm just going to do what I have to in order to get stuff on my own.  I have depended on my husband's credit for far too long, obviously, and no more.  I just hate the idea of giving a deposit for a credit card and my money just sitting in their bank and they are getting interest off of it, not to mention my apr, and I get no interest on my own money.  Also eventually I'll get to where I want to be but how bad will I take a hit when I close the secured credit card?

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Your husband won't cosign for you?  Y