Long story short I knocked off around 4k worth of CC payments which got my balances to zero on my 3 cards in 2 months.

But I went through a pretty tough time (in between jobs) and my credit when I had the cards dropped all the way to 600. It's at 640 now which is still bad but I'm looking for ways i can improve it during the next year..

Should I consider a secured card? Simply spending $50 or so on each card each month and paying it off at the end of the month?

I have some debt from school which I'm sure drags down my score too. I am considering buying a home next year and not sure how much I would be approved for

Thanks for all help

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Posted by TigerDeBaiter

Member since Dec 2010

10265 posts

Posted on 4/9/15 at 2:05 pm to sawmillsam

quote:

Should I consider a secured card?

Do you not have the CC's that previously had the balances on them?

quote:
But I went through a pretty tough time (in between jobs) and my credit when I had the cards dropped all the way to 600.

Did you miss payments? The score shouldn't drop significantly from racking up a balance unless you simply don't have much history.

quote:
Simply spending $50 or so on each card each month and paying it off at the end of the month?

This is a good thing, but I'd do it on your existing cards if you have the accounts still. Secured cards are usually for people who won't be approved for a regular CC.

quote:
I have some debt from school which I'm sure drags down my score too.

Shouldn't hurt your score as long as you haven't missed any payments. I have a fairly significant amount of students loans and my score was 794 when last pulled for my mortgage.

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Posted by sawmillsam

Member since Mar 2015

648 posts

Posted on 4/10/15 at 2:38 am to TigerDeBaiter

quote:
Do you not have the CC's that previously had the balances on them?

I just meant vs a high balance card. And yes.

quote:
id you miss payments? The score shouldn't drop significantly from racking up a balance unless you simply don't have much history.

I did miss a couple of payments. Really screwed my score. I only have two and a half years of credit history.

quote:
This is a good thing, but I'd do it on your existing cards if you have the accounts still. Secured cards are usually for people who won't be approved for a regular CC.

That's the only reason I was asking about getting a secured card. Since my score is so low, maybe getting another card would drop my score from the get go a little, but in the long run it would help establish a higher line of credit

Thanks for the response!

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Posted by VABuckeye

Naples, FL

Member since Dec 2007

35535 posts

Posted on 4/10/15 at 8:45 am to sawmillsam

Getting another card right now is not going to help your situation. Pay the one(s) you have on time and pay them off. Then charge an amount each month that you can payoff in full and rinse and repeat. Rebuilding your score is not an immediate process. There is no quick fix. It's going to take some time to undo the harm you did to your credit score.

Best of luck to you.