Community Discussions
Explore the latest discussions and community conversations related to this domain.
Tips for rebuilding credit?
Main Post:
Basically at like 19 I just ruined my credit right off the bat because I just didn’t understand/grew up poor with parents with no financial literacy/etc. I’m now 27 and want to start getting my shit together financially.
I’m sitting at a 579 score right now— I have some collections (that I haven’t even called back because I have no idea what to do and it gives me anxiety), about 6k in credit card debt (5.5 is in collections on a closed card after I tried to redeem myself and got approved for a chase sapphire and I fell into a deep depression combined with health issues and was out of work, resulting in me needing to use the card for everything) and I just use my two capital one cards ($300 limit and $500 limit) sometimes but they’re both set up for autopay every month for the on time payments, I’ve the $500 limit card since 2019 and the $300 limit for about a year. I have some student loan debt (about 15k) that I recently made contact for a income based payment plan for but am going back to school somewhat soon so I’ll need more loans 🫠
In total, I have about 26k in debt, I know it definitely could be worse but what can I do to actively boost my credit and help my score? How do I do any of it? Why didn’t my parents teach me any of this lmaoooo my partner and I want to work on this to eventually be able to buy a house someday.
Thanks in advance!!
Top Comment: OMG SAMEE. I was in the exact same situation 3 yrs ago. My score was at 560 (lower than you) and now, 3 years later, I'm sitting at a 780 score with all my debt paid off. This is what I did: To get help I used this credit repair service to get errors off my reports, raise my score and get better rates to sort my finances. Then I just started paying off my debt one by one, starting with the smallest one. And that's how, slowly but steadily, I got rid of the debt and rebuilt my credit.
How can I rebuild my bad credit?
Main Post:
I’m in my mid twenties getting my life back on tack after a spat with drug addiction. My credit is in the gutter after years of negligence on paying my $500 max credit card. No other really credit history outside of that. Never took a loan out, no student debt. I cancelled the card a year ago but I had it since I was 18. No idea of my credit score but I’m assuming it’s no good. Any advice is really appreciated.
Top Comment: First things first, congrats on taking control and getting your life back! Addiction is a tough thing to beat. Financial stress will add to that pretty quickly so let me offer a slightly different path for you! Forget about your credit score! It’s just a number for people using credit that’ll let them get more credit. First focus on creating a budget so you know how much you have coming in and going out. Set yourself up with an emergency fund in case anything goes wrong. Having that fund there (2-3 months of expenses is a great start!) eases unforeseen financial stressors. At some point during this time, request one of your free credit reports to see if there’s anything outstanding that you need to handle/pay off that you didn’t know about. You don’t want these things creeping up later and factoring them into your budget now will help. Once you’ve got a budget and an emergency fund THEN go get yourself another intro card. As others have said just charge 100$/mo of necessities on it and pay it off. It’ll take some time but consistency with that and not being late on payments will get you into the 600’s and maybe low 700’s on its own. This is where you can then begin to “grow” your credit. In order to grow your score. To achieve the highest scores you’ll need a few open lines and multiple loan types. Ironically you actually need to not have them paid off totally as well! This is a topic for a later date tho. TLDR; congrats! We are rooting for you. Make a budget. Start an emergency fund. Focus on paying just one card and 50-100$/mo consistently. Then worry about the credit score and tricks to improve!
Does credit repair work ?
Main Post:
Hi everyone I was recently was looking into credit repair I came across Lexington law but read very bad reviews that left me abit skeptical. Just curious if anyone had a good outcome with any credit repair services ?
Top Comment: It is important to keep a very close eye on your credit score since it factors into many of lifes biggest decisions. A couple steps you can take right now include: Checking and automatically monitoring your credit score - Looking at your own credit score does not hurt your credit, it also includes a credit monitor Freezing your credit reports - This can be done with Experian, Equifax and Transunion to help prevent unauthorized accounts from being opened Boosting your credit score - Kikoff provides you with a tradeline which should raise your credit score for as little as $5 a month. It is a good option if you want a boost to your score. Feel free to ask any credit score related question in this sub
How long does it typically take to repair your credit? What are some of the best credit repair companies?
Main Post:
Credit repair
Top Comment: Yeah, please don’t pay credit repair companies when you can do 2 hrs of research
Does anyone have any good recommendations on a reliable credit repair agency?
Main Post:
Hi all, I am looking to purchase my first home. I have no debt. Credit cards paid off. i know the popular credit apps show a different score than what the mortgage companies use. Credit karma shows 753 but the mortgage company has a 678.
I do have some missed payments and settled debts from a couple years ago.
I look at all these credit repair agencies and there are so many mixed reviews.
Top Comment: It is important to keep a very close eye on your credit score since it factors into many of lifes biggest decisions. A couple steps you can take right now include: Checking and automatically monitoring your credit score - Looking at your own credit score does not hurt your credit, it also includes a credit monitor Freezing your credit reports - This can be done with Experian, Equifax and Transunion to help prevent unauthorized accounts from being opened Boosting your credit score - Kikoff provides you with a tradeline which should raise your credit score for as little as $5 a month. It is a good option if you want a boost to your score. Feel free to ask any credit score related question in this sub
Paying someone to repair my credit?
Main Post:
Hello, I recently contacted a credit counseling company to see if theyd be able to help me remove a debt collection that i have. She said she could do it for around $600 or $160 per month until. Im wondering if there are other counseling services which would do it for cheaper. Or would it be best to dispute the debt collection myself? I already sent one dispute to equifax which she told me was a mistake. Please let me know.
Top Comment: It is important to keep a very close eye on your credit score since it factors into many of lifes biggest decisions. A couple steps you can take right now include: Checking and automatically monitoring your credit score - Looking at your own credit score does not hurt your credit, it also includes a credit monitor Freezing your credit reports - This can be done with Experian, Equifax and Transunion to help prevent unauthorized accounts from being opened Boosting your credit score - Kikoff provides you with a tradeline which should raise your credit score for as little as $5 a month. It is a good option if you want a boost to your score. Feel free to ask any credit score related question in this sub
Are there any LEGIT credit repair companies?
Main Post:
Just curious. I see a ton but not sure if they’re even the real thing.
Top Comment: Yeah.
DIY credit repair—what actually works and what’s a waste of time?
Main Post:
I've officially had enough of letting bad credit control my life. I’m not in a place to throw money at a credit repair company, so I’ve decided to go the DIY route—but the amount of conflicting info out there is enough to make my head spin. Some people swear by dispute letters, others say just focus on paying down debt. I don’t want to waste time doing stuff that doesn’t move the needle.
Right now, my credit report has a few dings: an old utility bill in collections, two credit cards that were maxed out for months (one’s still close to the limit), and some late payments from over two years ago. I pulled all three reports and found a couple inaccuracies, but nothing major. My score is hovering in the low 600s, and I’d love to get it up into the 700s within the next year if that’s even realistic.
For those of you who’ve actually done DIY credit repair, what worked best? Disputes? Goodwill letters? Debt snowball? How did you prioritize what to tackle first? And how long did it take before you started seeing results?
Top Comment: It is important to keep a very close eye on your credit score since it factors into many of lifes biggest decisions. A couple steps you can take right now include: Checking and automatically monitoring your credit score - Looking at your own credit score does not hurt your credit, it also includes a credit monitor Freezing your credit reports - This can be done with Experian, Equifax and Transunion to help prevent unauthorized accounts from being opened Boosting your credit score - Kikoff provides you with a tradeline which should raise your credit score for as little as $5 a month. It is a good option if you want a boost to your score. Feel free to ask any credit score related question in this sub
Anyone know of some good, REPUTABLE credit repair ...
Main Post: Anyone know of some good, REPUTABLE credit repair ...