Goldbug wrote:

Moneyes wrote: I know someone who did that by only using the card to pay for the gas for her car. She went to a station where she had a discount card and that discount pretty much cancelled out the interest she had to pay on the credit card.

The idea is to not pay any interest on the card by paying the bill off during the interest-free period e.g the bill comes off on the 14th and your transfer hits on the 18th. It shows you are using credit responsibly. Some cards will let you make the payment before the bill hits, so your account goes into credit for a couple of days, then back to zero. Either way, combine it with a reward scheme and you can get the bonus without paying any interest!

I'll have to try this, Moneyes, thanks for the tip.

If I was trying to fix things I'd probably save for an emergency fund first while looking for ways to earn additional income. Lack of funds is what leads people to get into trouble in the first place, so I'd try to head that off.

I have certainly been there! The first thing I would do it to write letters to the credit bureaus and make error reports on every negative item on there. Reason being is that the company has 30 days to respond and if they don't they must mandatorily take it off. When I went through this, no one ever told me I could do this myself and I used a company that charged me everytime they removed an item. You definitely can do it yourself and save $.

That is so great to hear LEXIE. As WANDERER said, you should be immensely proud!

Wanderer wrote: Lexie congrats on rebuilding! Yes, I understand your journey and the self control and hard work it took. Be proud ... you have earned it!

Thanks Wanderer. There were days when I was just glad to still have a roof over my head and food on the table. Can you imagine paying for everything with cash? That's where we were! Long journey but worth the lesson learned.

Lexie congrats on rebuilding! Yes, I understand your journey and the self control and hard work it took. Be proud ... you have earned it!

I agree FRANKN. If you can't pay the balance each month, don't get a card. Just quit charging anything. That's what we did.......for years. Time is the key word in rebuilding. It takes 7 years to redeem yourself so to speak. We learned a valuable lesson and have never been in financial trouble since. But it took time to rebuild our credit score and get a grip on our finances.

Moneyes wrote: I know someone who did that by only using the card to pay for the gas for her car. She went to a station where she had a discount card and that discount pretty much cancelled out the interest she had to pay on the credit card.

The idea is to not pay any interest on the card by paying the bill off during the interest-free period e.g the bill comes off on the 14th and your transfer hits on the 18th. It shows you are using credit responsibly. Some cards will let you make the payment before the bill hits, so your account goes into credit for a couple of days, then back to zero. Either way, combine it with a reward scheme and you can get the bonus without paying any interest!

If you are using a credit card and not paying the credit card off in full each month, it defeats the whole purpose of why you should have a credit card.

Goldbug wrote: If you have one regular low bill you can put onto the card and make sure you have a transfer to the card set up a few days later to pay it off, you can build credit up easily without having to carry the card and risk being tempted to spend on it.
Good luck!

I know someone who did that by only using the card to pay for the gas for her car. She went to a station where she had a discount card and that discount pretty much cancelled out the interest she had to pay on the credit card.

If you are certain you are going to make the car payment, can you drop a letter to the other reporting agencies so they also pick it up for your score? It should happen over time, but if it happens sooner it will help.

If you get a card with a really low limit and pay it off each month it will help to improve your credit score. It is easier to get cards if you ask for a low limit, especially with a bankruptcy on record, and there are some providers that specialise in former bankrupts. The fewer checks and refusals you have on your record the better, so start with the most likely cards to accept you, even if they aren't great otherwise and make sure to pay them off monthly. If you have one regular low bill you can put onto the card and make sure you have a transfer to the card set up a few days later to pay it off, you can build credit up easily without having to carry the card and risk being tempted to spend on it.

Good luck!

You should see those FICO scores merge close to each other as the other companies will eventually record your bankruptcy. I would also recommend secured cards to start improving your score over time.

kforbes862 wrote: Hello to everyone, i am new here
My current fico scores are: experian, 690 equifax, 540 transunion, 554. the reason for experian being so much higher is the bankruptcy is not showing on it,

Welcome aboard kforbes. So a bankruptcy moves the needle 150 points? That's good to know information that I never knew, thank you for being so forthcoming with it.

I would open 2 credit card accounts, both with small maximums and rotate the usage with one always having a zero balance. Slow and steady wins the race.

Welcome, Kforbes! Wanderer mentioned Credit One and Premier and I'd also like to add First National into the mix. When my husband and I first met he had just gone through a nasty divorce that left his credit in shambles. It took me about three or four years of dealing with those credit card companies to get him back to above average, but he got there. Good luck with your journey and don't hesitate to ask questions around here.

Welcome to the site ... as to your question on rebuilding there are options. You could seek secured cards where you deposit a set dollar amount and the lender establishes a credit limit which opens the door (Capital One, Bank of America and Citi Cards used to be good secured cards and they did graduate to unsecured cards). Another approach is to app for unsecured cards. Generally, with your present scores most regular lenders hesitate to offer cards (note not always - credit is a game like pinball). Credit One, Premier and other lenders offer unsecured cards with large annual fees, monthly service charges, charges for credit line increases and often account set up fees that can run in the hundreds of dollars per year - it does however open the credit door. Capital One used to offer unsecured cards with a steps program where the limits were low but again, opened the door. Not to be overlooked are credit unions which are known for being client friendly and will often work with your re-build with a good credit card, line of credit and banking products that will serve you well. Yes, I put a lot of options out there for you to consider as I have walked your walk and it took me a long time to re-build since I did not know about forums such as this. Best wishes and keep on coming back. Don't forget, research is your friend on your credit rebuild

Hello to everyone, i am new here, and here is my situation. I filed bankruptcy, and it was discharged about 2 years ago. I hadn't thought about re-building until 2 months ago. on my reports are the bankruptcy, and tons of accounts that were included in it, about 10 prime cards, a couple loans...
My current fico scores are: experian, 690 equifax, 540 transunion, 554. the reason for experian being so much higher is the bankruptcy is not showing on it, and my car loan only reports to it. each report has around 4-5 inquaries, mostly from car shopping. the only positives reporting rigt now are my car loan, opened 2 months ago, balance of $11,200, but reports only to experian, its a small bank with just 3 branches, and a $500 credit card from a big bank, i just got last month. what else can i be doing to get the wheels moving?