Ok here is the deal, I been working on my credit for almost 3 months. I have experienced great success on having items removed. There are some baddies still but working on them. My question is the following, I have not had credit or used my credit since i ruined it over 7 years ago. Now that I am facing my problem I want to rebuilt credit. I applied fro one credit card with a score of 600 and they denied because of not having enough active or open credit accounts. My wife has 2 credit cards "Circuit City and a VIsa" one is totally maxed out 2500 of 2600 and the other one is nearly maxed out 2400 of 2750.00 At this point I would like to know if it would hurt me more than help me to have her add me to her credit cards as a authorized user so that i can inherit the 5 year old credit history of the two cards. We always pay on time and I always pay a little more than they require on her cards. Also is there a lender out there that would approve a personal loan with a score of 600 to 630? I would like to borrow enough on my credit to either pay her credit cards off or at least pay half of them. At this point she can't even get credit line increases because her cards are almost maxed out and we do not have the cash to bring them down on our own. Thanks in advanced for suggestions.
Try a credit union for the loan. They often have more lenient standards, and you can also usually talk to a person instead of having computers make the decisions. I don't know if being an AU would help with the cards being almost maxxed. But if you can get a loan and pay them down, have her add you as an AU at that point.
You could apply for a secured credit card (Bank of America or American Pacific Bank are good) by leaving $$ (250$ minimum)in a deposit account. After a year or o, they will remove the deposit requirement, and you will have a nice credit history. I beleive Amer. Pacific bank reports as "unsecured" to all 3 CRA's, BofA reports as "secured"
At present we cannot even afford to put thatt much for a securred card. As pathethic as it might sound, I am a 33 year old father of 4 that does not have $100 in the savings acount I take some solace on the fact that all my bill are paid and uptodate. I am so depressed about our financial situation. I think the only way out is to get a loan to pay all the cards and hopefully have a lower monthly payment and lower interest rate.
Have you considered a second job for a while? Even working at McDonald's or 7-11 on weekends or a few evenings. Take everything you make on that job and pay it on your bills. Don't think that you have extra money, you can splurge on this or that. Discipline yourself so that the second paycheck goes immediately to bills. Pay on the highest interest rate first. Try to pay what you are paying from your first job PLUS the extra Even 6 months or a year will make a big difference.
When I was in my desperate credit straits, I was working my primary job plus two part-time jobs. They were both businesses that I ran, so I could set my own hours. Yes, I spent several years doing nothing but working, but it's worth it in the end. If there's something you can do as your own business it can also help you tax-wise.
You are doing the right thing by looking here for help With a little bit of studying here you will be able to change your finacial picture shortly. good luck to you and God bless!
Re: I need Advice regarding credit Take a moment and reflect on this - you're supporting four kids and you're paying your bills. You're doing a great job at a time when many can not claim these simple accomplishments. I may be hearing you incorrectly, but I think what's going on you suddenly "need" credit and want to lower your balances. To accomplish this, you're looking for an instant fix - a loan. I think you stated you've gone 7 years or more without credit of any kind. May I suggest a bit of perspective and if it takes a few more months, or even a year, for you to get that credit, how long is that compared to the 7 years you've already let go? There's nothing wrong w/lowering your wife's balances, but if you're just paying the bills and have no extra income (2nd job suggestions above are fine, but for now, that's not part of the equation), then take care of what you need to. If you have to get a secured card and post $50 for your deposit, that's a start. In a year, you'll have more room. Time is a tool, and like any tool, can work for or against us. The time is going to pass anyway, so try to leverage it effectively.
I would like to thank you for the kind words and comments. I apologize for posting about my personal troubles just needed to vent. To be fair I think that I should paint a clearer picture, my wife and I recently moved "3 months ago" From PA to Florida, among others the main reason for moving was to provide our kids with a better chance in life, the area where we lived before was not the best place in town it was polluted with Drugs and parent that did not care whether their kids where home or in prison and we felt that our kids deserved better. I am currently on disability as a result of an auto accident, getting a job is not a option for me so that leaves my wife to go out and work. She works allot and we do not get to spend as much quality time together because of her hours. The cost of living here is higher than back in PA. At this point we signed a lease for 1 year. We love the area and love the schools. My kids are no longer afraid of going to school because they are going to get beat up and they love it here. My wife and I are willing to sacrifice every last penny to keep them here as long as their are taking advantage of the opportunities available to them on this superb schools.. When in PA we where able to save some money because we only had a mortgage of 220.00 per month however making such a move wiped all our savings "9k". Now we are renting and paying 1200 so there is a big difference. On top of that we have to pay the house in PA, we cannot rent the house there because it still has many of our belongings and we cannot try to sell it because we where buying on a sales agreement with the owner and the house will not be payed off for another 2 years. At this point I do not know what to do because no matter what we have a lease here for 1 year and can't go anywhere. After the year is up maybe we can mover to a area that is not as expensive as this one but then I would be going back to square one, the same situation that I wanted to move out off to begin with. As it is we have all together three credit cards almost maxed most of the credit was used to fix the house that we are buying in PA. Now we are able to pay our bills in time thank GOD but there is just no extra money to save for a emergency. I have never been so powerless in my life and do not see no easy solution for our dilemma. Please forgive me for a long rant, just venting and a little depressed today, I wish there was a easy solution for my problem but I think at present the best and only thing would be to secure a loan somehow to pay off all the credit cards...
