Hello all, I wanted to thank the members of this board for all the help in the last month. Your advice has been sound, helpful, and has raised my scores greatly . I also to want to share a story with those of you here that are struggling and see no light at the end of the tunnel. I went through a tough time in late 97, a business failure left me owing 75K in Federal taxes and 30K in state sales taxes, needless to say my personal credit took a serious hit. Quite a few lates and one chargeoff on my record. I was hiding assests in my sisters name, my mothers name, anywere I could, I couldn't have a thing in my name for fear of someone attaching it I made my mind up then (1997) to stop paying someone else 18% interest on my CC debt of 15K and 8.5% on a 30k car loan. I struggled and paid every extra dime I could to get these debts paid off. In late 2001 I succeded and am now debt free. I have an extra $500 or $600 a month to invest and make interest off of someone elsenow. I sold my house in 97 and about everthing I owned to pay these debt off, but in the long run it was worth it. I now own a 2001 Suburban with no car payment and am cleaning up my credit reports to buy a new house as a prime A+ borrower I am not writing this to brag but more to let you who are struggling, see that you can change things around, it will get better, get a game plan stick to it and work hard at it. Thanks for the help and good luck to all of you, JohnM Exp 687 (04/02) now 761 Eqfx 721 (04/02) now 791 TU 710 (04/02) now 710 - my 30 dispute deadline is due on 06/02 - These guys S--K
Good job, John! Nothing wrong with an expensive car that you can afford. Many people try to run before learning to crawl, buying things because they "deserve" them. The best car in the world is the one that's paid for.
Rina, You are right. The best car is a paid off car <G>. One of the hardest things was not buying things I couldn't pay for. Now if I want something I set aside enough money to be able to pay for it at the end of the month. I try to use Amex only to keep me in check. The other thing that is great about getting debt free is if I hit a slow business month (I am self employed), I am not getting hit with huge monthly interest if I chose to pay minimum balances for a month or two. I still am working on my credit scores. I want to join the triple 800 club. I've still got some work to do but I think I'll make it. If I do make it, you are all invited to the party. (3000 members = 60 kegs x $50\keg + 1000 bags of chips and dip...I better start saving my pennys now..I'm not charging that on my CC) Thanks, JohnM JohnM
George, You just gave me a great idea...I wonder if I can trade my Amex membership rewards points for FICO points. Now THAT would be a reward that we all would use <G> JohnM ps That would make as much sense on a FICO score as the "random number generator" they now use.
