I'm taking a deep breath as I type this and you can bet I'm feeling rather humbled as I put all my bad stuff out here. Short intro: I'm 28 and about a month away from gettting married. His credit is the good one, but mine is far from it. I've accumulated a lot of debt over the years and now with the dreams of having a house in a year or 2, the need is even greater for us to slip the bonds of creditors. Right now, we have about $15K in credit card bills, $4000 of which is about to go to collection. We both have decent paying jobs, but I feel like we're drowning. I came here on the advice of another person from a non-credit related board in the hopes of possibly finding out what I need to do. I'm completely clueless right now... Looking forward to posting with all of you.
Welcome to the board. I want to start by saying that 2 years is exactly the amount of time needed to clean your credit and buy a home. Do you mind sharing where you live (state,urban, rural) to determine what kind of home loan you may be looking for. Is credit card debt your only major hinderance or do you have student loan problems. It is important for you to face the facts and list out ALL your debts and obstacles to develop a game plan. It is also important that you get copies of your THREE credit reports to see exactly what the damage is. I have found out that some debts were are sure reported didnt and there are some erroneous debts that we must fight off as well. Supply that information for us and I am sure others and myself will gladly help you.
Welcome. I think the first basic question in your case is whether or not you can afford the minimum payments on your accounts. Another question that immediately comes to mind is did you see your credit reports yet?
Welcome, no need to be afraid as this board is more like a community. First thing first pull your credit reports from all three major CRAs. You may subscrible to all 'you can pull for a year deal' from CE and EQ. Pull also your future spouse as well. My reason for this is that I too faced the same problem but was married at the time. At the time of looking for a mortgage my scores were so bad that it was recommended that my wife go into the loan based on her score alone. In short my score would only slow her down. Once you pull your scores post those numbers and what accounts are about to go into collection. There are others here that can give you more of a direction to take. Best regards, Mirage
Hi, thanks for both of your responses! Roni, to answer you first, I am in a rural area. Southeastern Lower Michigan to narrow it down. When FH and I go looking for homes in a few years, it will probably be in a rural area. Neither one of us have any student loans, thankfully. They're all credit. Most of them are mine, like I mentioned. FH has the better credit, but he has 1 account that's on the verge of taking a dive. Tmitchell, yes and no on the minimums of the accounts. There are some months that we pay mins with no problem, then others where even that seems like a monsterous amount. Toss in a wedding and you can tell where money hasn't been going. I haven't gotten any credit reports yet, mainly because I'm unsure which one(s) to get. I know Equifax is one but I'm unclear on others. Listing debts: You mean put them here? I can do that, but it's going to be a day or so while I compile everything. Perhaps that's a good project for this weekend...? Thanks again for your replies. I already feel less alone here...
Welcome (with arms open)!!! I was also a newbie. This board is the grandest!!! Don't be afraid, whatever you want to do or think about doing present it to the board and they will give you advice. As far as your credit---request your credit reports and if you are going to dispute any items----STAY ORGANIZED. I find that is the key. All in all good luck and Congrats!!
Post your accounts here (minus acct #'s of course) along with their statuses. We can then direct you accordingly. I may sound like the bad guy on this but I would suggest scaling back on the wedding a bit if necessary. your debts are a NECESSITY, the wedding is a LUXURY. The funds you save can be directed at paying down debt. I know that's probably not what you want to hear but it is practical advice.
You're not a bad guy Actually, we're lucky in the respect that my parents have graciously offered to foot a lot of the bill. Right now, we're at about 80/20 with them. Believe me, we searched high and low for good deals on our part.
Can't argue with that! Your next step should be to get your report and/or post your accounts here with their statuses so we can get a look at your situation.
Welcome!!! There is a money guru, Suze Orman, that is on the radio that told a couple that were in a similar situation that instead of having the big wedding that would put them further in debt to have a very small wedding and keep plugging on reducing their debt THEN in a year or two have the wedding and be debt free, but then she doesn't know about creditnetters. Charlie
Welcome to you and your FH! You're in this together! Some of your solutions are going to be Creditor-specific so it'll help to know who you are dealing with and how far off kilter you are. Many of the folks here know which magic buttons to push for which creditor or CA. Let us know how we can help. Dancer
Welcome to the board. The credit reports you need are here: Equifax - free trial https://www.econsumer.equifax.com/webapp/ConsumerProducts/pgConsumerProducts?^start=& Experian free trial https://www.creditexpert.com/creditexpert/creditmanager/01_home.jsp Trans union - no freebies unless you cheat - unemployed, or recently denied for credit - free by mail only. http://www.transunion.com/index.asp I think we have some links for discounts on some of the other services available, but I would at least get one of the real thing first. free transunion reports: https://www.worthknowing.com/index.shtml just delete your account each time
Thank you all for the info so far. I'll be ordering the reports today or tomorrow and my goal for this weekend is to sit down and list everything and how far off it is. I'm anxious to get this started! Thanks again, I'll be talking to you all
