Recently I decided that it is time for me to face the UGLY in my life. My UGLY credit report. Its like waking up and saying time to lose weight.
I have noticed that your Credit Report indeed reflects a lot about you as a person. Just as having a weight issue. I want my life o reflect order and love.
So, on Monday I decided to hit the internet and search for information on how to repair my credit. The biggest question was where do I start. Then HOW and Can this possibly be done. With the current economic state of our Country lenders are being more stringent and it is said that people with 700+ FICO scores will have a hard time getting a loan as well.
Alright, I know I can do this. So I started doing more research and applying for Credit Cards to rebuild your credit. DENIED! Of course they kindly let you down, but nonetheless I was DENIED. I was also surprised to have been denied for a Checking Account with Wells Fargo. I do have two checking accounts in good standing; so that I will have to investigate.
So, I bit about my past credit. I have not had ANY credit cards for 7 years. I have not purchased a car or home, not even a utility bill is under my name. Nothing! I married and all of it is under his name. All bill paid etc… I allowed myself to fall into a comfort zone. Not too long ago, he experienced some financial problems with his company. That total scared me. How can I help if I do not have any credit history? Total SOL…
Well, like I said, this is going to be interesting. I do not want to pay for Attorneys or Credit Agencies removing anything in my credit report that I can possibly do myself.
The following are the 3 steps I will take this week to Help My Poor Credit this week
1) Get copy of Credit Report from the 3 Agencies
2) Get my FICO Score
3) Research on how I can accomplish my goals
My Goals
a) Have a Wells Fargo Checking account
b) Department Store Credit Cards /American Express
c) BUY MY OWN HOME in ONE YEAR or less
So let the fun being. If you have any tips please send them in I will look into them and report to you my progress.
Now, let me make one thing clear. I do not want to get in debt. Nope, but I want to be able to have the credit available to me if I wish to use it. Now the mortgage is a whole other scenario. I will be searching for MY dream home.
Here is to Financial freedom J
Usually people say to get a loan with a credit union…something small like $200 that you KNOW you have the money to pay back. Then pay that loan back so you can build up a credit history on a loan.
Then get a secured credit card and use that for your purchases. In this case it will work like your debit card since you must have the money in the account to make purchases.
That should help.
Transfer one of the bills to your name from your husband as well. Electric bill is good for that type of thing. Just make sure you always pay it on time.
I would totally disagree that your credit score says a lot about you. If you have a low credit score (or no score at all) by choice, that doesn’t mean you are a bad or irresponsible person at all.
I quit using credit back in March, took all of my credit cards, put them in an envelope, sealed them and vowed to never use credit again in my life. Does that make me a bad person?
Everyone’s infatuation with credit is very scary. You said you haven’t used credit or bought anything in your name in seven years. Congrats, so…. Why start now?
Why not continue to pay everything with cash?
@lulugal11 – Those are great tips. Thanks, I will go through all the bills and confirm they are not late.
@Shawn – I agree with you, the credit score does not determine the person. However, I feel that for my future goals and financial stability I will need to have a good credit score. With all that has been going on, I would or might I should say, need to fall back on my credit.
I enjoy not having to worry about the bills. I do not rent movies because I do not like to borrow and have the liability. This is not the time in my life I want to just ignore it and let be. Anything I can do to help imporve myself I am all for.
From the research I have done, I do need to fight some items that appear on my credit report and I want to know that in the event I needed to step in to help my husband with a line of credit or a co-sign I could do so. Would I not really, only if a dire situation arose.
Now, even life insurance policies are checking your credit history. I know that employers will check your credit. I have many reasons to why I would want it to be cleared up now.
And of course I want to purchase my own home. Thanks for the questions, it really helps me think.
Why does credit bring stability? If you have noticed, credit is the main reason why the housing industry is all jacked up. Why not save up cash for an emergency fund and use that as a fallback net?
How many people do you know that have used credit successfully? I know zero. Everyone gets in debt and it leads to financial trouble. You simply won’t win with debt. Ask any rich person, guarantee they won’t say they got there by using credit cards.
I’m going to disagree that life insurance agents check your credit and prevent you from taking out a policy. Dave Ramsey hasn’t used credit in 20 years and he has life insurance – quite a bit of it.
Employers run your credit to look for negative marks – bankruptcy, non payment of bills, foreclosures, etc. If you simply don’t use credit, that can’t hurt you. If a job still requires you have a high score, go elsewhere are they are stupid to base your work skills on a FICO score.
For someone that hasn’t used credit in seven years, I am more than shocked that you still think you need it. You have survived just fine the past years right? heh
And, you can still get a house without credit. In your case, where you have nothing at all on your record, it’s very easy. Simply find a lender that does manual underwriting. That is, the process where a lender looks at your finances, your job status, checks to see if you pay your bills on time, etc. Basically, how things use to be done before the FICO score. Basing everything on a score is so foolish. You could have a very high score and get approved for a loan you couldn’t come close to paying. It happens every day.
Hope I am not coming off as a jerk, it’s just fascinating to me and I don’t want to see anyone make a giant mistake after such great success.
Thanks for the tip!
I am going to add your blog to my list!
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