I hope no-one gets mad at me for asking this question. I started out on this trek cleaning up my husbands credit. He kept getting denied for credit cards. Never applied for one, paid cash for everything or went to our bank and got loans. Any amount, no problem. Hes in his 50's. I soon found out there was alot of info in his file that was not accurate, hense denials. It took me over 2 years to get CRA's to correct the info. and remove duplicates, an open charge off that was paid in '96. Since then, he was able to get some better cards (with Cap 1) and we are satisfied with that. All negatives will drop of in 2 years. On the other hand. I hadn't applied for credit in 15 years and was in fear that I didn't have a credit file at all. I found out different. I had 5 records in my file. 4 mortgage accts. paid in full, never late. The bank we delt with merged 4 times in 3 years and each bank is reporting under different account numbers. On 2 of my reports is a collection for an elec. bill my ex stuck me with 5 years ago. I Didn't even know, the scum bag! After I found out that my credit was clean. I started applying for everything I could get my hands on. It got to be a game to see who I'd get and for how much. I did pretty good. I went from 0 - 20K in less than 2 months in credit. Now, I'm asking myself why? I didn't need it before and all I set out to get was one card with a decent limit. Now I have a drawerful. and I'm afraid to use them. Are we all obsessed with credit? Or is it that we've been told "no" so many times it has become a game. Just wondering....sorry so long.
RE: absolutely. I use credit cards to purchase things (large) and pay for them over short periods of time. If i don't have an extra $1500 to spend on something, i'll buy it, and pay it off in 2-3 months. If my company dot bomb's, i have a safetynet of money at hand, in dire needs. It provides me with the comfort level i like to have to live. Then again, I feel back owing $2000 on a card. If i had $20k on my card id have to shoots myself.
RE: absolutely. Oh, no no no Sam...I don't owe 20K I have limits that total that. We only owe about $2000. That why I said, I'm afraid to use them. Our home will be paid for in 3 years and are cars already are. And thats only because we refinanced 2 years ago to get the tax deduction and a 7% loan. The $2000 is all we owe on credit card debt.
Good post, Jamie. The majority of us who frequent the forum are pretty credit obsessed, I'm sure. I know I am. The thing is I didn't realize how valuable my credit was until I lost it. Trying to gain it back has been a long hard-fought battle. To make a long story short, a little over two years ago, I had a major loss in income. My hours at work were cut and, additionally, I lost another major income source. Coping was difficult. Strugglling from paycheck to paycheck was about all I could do. I would have gladly taken on another job...*anything*...but employment is a major challenge for those of us who are blind. I paid rent first; food and utilities, second and my credit cards came last. At least, like most of you, I didn't have a car payment to make and I was grateful for that. There is a blessing in just about every situation if you just look. Gradually, things started to get better. My hours at work were restored, I was able to get some transcription work on the side and I got married. Finally, I had some financial breathing room. With two incomes, I was able to start paying off my debts. What a relief! The calls from my creditors stopped and I was no longer afraid to answer the telephone at home. Since my husband and I want to buy a house soon, I decided it was time to face the music, order my credit reports and see how bad my credit picture really was. Basically, I had several late pays and a paid charge off to start working on. For a little over a year now, I've been hounding the bureaus, contacting creditors and trying to get my profile in better shape. My strategy was to pay the debts first and then do damage control. Regrettably, I didn't know anything about settlements at the time. Everything was paid in full. My credit is starting to rebuild but progress is slow. I long for the day when I can shun the sub prime market. So many of those cards are rip offs! If I ever get decent credit again, I'll guard it with my life! Currently, I have a CitiBank card and, if I can just get one more prime card, I'll be ecstatic! To me, that will be the sign that I've really made my way back into the world of good credit. Donna
I'm not obsessed! - not today, anyway. I've always been fascinated by credit cards, of knowing that IF I WANTED TO, I could go on a cruise or buy a jacket or a leather sofa (I wouldn't). Unfortunately, my first cards were used 'just because'; soon after that, I got married, bought a house, had a child, and everything went to HE**. Bankruptcy. This was in 1988. After moving to Georgia, I rebuilt my credit enough to buy a *car*, a house, then a REAL car, but still kept getting turned down for good cards. Except FNANB and MBNA. Last May, after being approved in-store for Office Depot to buy my computer, I just started applying online to see if I WOULD be approved. That's when it became a game. At first, for every approval, I would close another account to compensate for it (Providian, Orchard, some store cards), but now, I've got more than when I started, and can't even consider possibly maybe thinking about getting another one. However, I've now got peace of mind knowing that I am covered when my heating system dies (soon) or my roof needs to be looked at(now) or something major happens. Also, I like the flexibility of using a card for everyday purchases, then switching to a different one depending on the cycle date (helps with the budget!) So yeah, I was obsessed with getting cards, but at least it did me some good. (Please, nobody start with the 'deadbeat' stuff, I'm older and wiser now, with a whole different plan. I've got a much better handle on things!)
No judgment here, JacquiG. I know all too well what it's like to have too many bills and not enough money. The stress and pressure can be overwhelming. You've obviously learned from your experience and have created an excellent credit situation for yourself now. And I agree -- credit does offer security. It's nice to know it's available in the event of an emergency or if something unexpected comes along. Sometimes, I just don't want my savings account to take the hit. Donna
Like I said, a $300 limit was fine for us while cleaning up his file. Until...we were on our honeymoon last January. We had our bank check card with us and $3000 in the account. We traveled around Florida for a month. We were in Key West on a holiday weekend when when we found out there was a daily limit of $500 on our account.(for our protection they said) Well, one Sunday we went to pay for our room. The card was declined. We used our Credit card thinking we'd have fresh funds after 2:30 and pay with that on check out. After trying 3 times to get money the machine sucked up our card. Imagine, being in Key West with $60. We laughed when we had dinner at Wendy's. How romatic. Then my new husband fell in the pool. That was the most memorable part of our honeymoon and we did it on what?,$8 bucks. Well, to make a long story short, the car broke down getting back to my brothers in Clearwater, right on Alligator Ally. There were alligators everywhere. What a trip...and now we only have $180 left on the card. I had to call our bank back home and transfer the funds to my checking account. We had to wait until Wed. afternoon to get more money. The car used up our daily limit again. So now we're up to Thurs. before we could go anywhere. We spent a lot of time on the beach...that didn't cost anything. But all in all, a month in Florida in January, money or not, was fantastic. Our friends and family were freezing their butts off and we were laughing. Next time, we'll take one of my new high limit cards just in case.
We I have been accused of being obsessed and insane LOL Anway I did not know the first thing about credit, we had used cash most of our lives and up until I financed furniture in 98, did I realize that I did need to establish credit, so I began in June of 99, it does takes awhile to become established but we are getting there and hopefully will be home owners in the summer. I think more than credit cards, I am mainly focusing on upping my scores, we have enough credit lines 26k for our income, actually I think too much, but once I get my scores where they need to be, a mortgage on report will give a nice boost, then I will focus on getting the best BT deals around and the lowest APR's and just keep a few accounts for emergencies. Mom
Sounds like when we went on vacation one time, planning to use the ATM card from my credit union. We found out there was a $200 limit per day. It certainly mandates that you stay on a budget!! -Alwilda Smith
