it's all about money

Anonymous · ‎11-30-2012

I am recovering from divorce and bankruptcy several years ago. I pay cash for just about everything now. Having been denied a few jobs now, i need to find a way to bring up my credit score. How doe sthe FICO scoring method really work? A friend of mine said that your credit score is really your willingness to go into debt score. I was advised to get a secured credit card. I have $500 cash to deposit to the best card. May I ask what is the "best" secured credit card and please include "why" to help me evaluate.

Thanks,

SleezeBall

ccnewcc · ‎12-01-2012

@Anonymous wrote:
I am recovering from divorce and bankruptcy several years ago. I pay cash for just about everything now. Having been denied a few jobs now, i need to find a way to bring up my credit score. How doe sthe FICO scoring method really work? A friend of mine said that your credit score is really your willingness to go into debt score. I was advised to get a secured credit card. I have $500 cash to deposit to the best card. May I ask what is the "best" secured credit card and please include "why" to help me evaluate.

Thanks,

SleezeBall

If you have been denied jobs due to your credit, you are able to get your credit reports free. If you haven't gotten your credit reports, I'd recommend doing that. I think there is a time limit that you are able to request a free credit report due from employment denial. So if that time frame has past, you can go to the annualcreditreport.com site and get it them there.

It might be a good idea to see what is on your reports so that you know what you need to do -- especailly if there is something on your credit reports that shouldn't be there.

Not sure what the best secured card is, but check them all out and see which one will work for you. But i wouldn't get a secured card if you can get an unsecured card.

llecs · ‎12-01-2012

There's a popular radio and TV host that calls FICO the "I love debt" score. While he's great, the advice is misguided per FICO. You can be 100% debt-free and have a high FICO. In fact, FICO penalizes you for being in debt. A FICO score can be generated after you have at least 6 months of open history on your CRs. You can acheive this via a secured CC and is a great way to start. Having a solid mix of credit is important and a secured CC is the best to begin with. If you use it, pay it off right away. You would avoid interest. You also don't need to use it all the time. Just use it every 3-4 months to keep it active and pay it off.