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My credit score. OUCH!  

post #1 of 39
1/29/09 at 10:34pm
Thread Starter 
I just checked my score with Creditkarma.com. I know it's not 100% accurate as it's not a true FICO score, but it's a free and trustworthy site. I wanted to sorta guage how I'm doing. And I am not doing great at all. My score is 521. That's really bad, right? I don't know what to do to build it up. I have no mortgage. I don't have a car payment because my dad had to buy my car for me due to my bad credit (would have upped my payments by $60 a month). I pay my dad monthly, but there is no record, obviously. I don't have a mortgage as we rent. My student loans are in deferment until September. I don't have any credit cards. What are some easy ways to boost my score?
post #2 of 39
1/29/09 at 11:52pm
Can you get any monthly bills (electric, water, phone etc) put in your name? That will help boost your score.
post #3 of 39
1/30/09 at 12:03am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Coconut Chronicles View Post
Can you get any monthly bills (electric, water, phone etc) put in your name? That will help boost your score.
Utilities are not factored into FICO:


http://financialplan.about.com/cs/cr...reditScore.htm

Quote:
The formula used to calculate your FICO score includes information based on several factors:
~ 35% on your payment history
~ 30% on the amount you currently owe lenders
~ 15% on the length of your credit history
~ 10% on the number of new credit accounts you've opened or applied for (fewer is better)
~ 10% on the mix of credit accounts you have (mortgages, credit cards, installment loans, etc.)
post #4 of 39
1/30/09 at 12:13am
Quote:
Originally Posted by llamalluv View Post
Utilities are not factored into FICO:
Mea culpa... it was my understanding that some do report to the bureaus but then again I'm not American.
post #5 of 39
1/30/09 at 8:29am
If your score is really that low, it is unlikely that you could get a credit card in this environment. You could google to see if there are any more subprime cards out there, but the selection has really dropped off the cliff.

The best thing to do is to pay your student loans. Pay them every month until your score climbs high enough for you to get a single credit card if you cannot get one now.
post #6 of 39
1/30/09 at 9:11am
If your father is willing to help you by getting a loan in his name alone, then perhaps he could add your name to some of his credit... as he is responsible with his credit, you will also get the benefit of his good credit history. If you can be a co-signer on his loans, it would really help.
post #7 of 39
1/30/09 at 9:40am
I would suggest a secured cc. Orchard bank has one that you send them $200 , you get a limit of $200, thats it. I think you can get a higher limit if you send them more. You are sending them that money , in case you dont pay they have your deposit.

I used to have a low score like you, I got this secure card (I actually still have it, although im sure I could get a non-secured one by now). Within 2 yrs my score was almost 700. granted I also cleaned up some stuff on my credit report. I also got a walmart card. Thats it. The key is paying everything ontime, and your income to debt ration is not high.

Also the more companies look at your credit report hurts you. I think there is a way for you to stop them from looking.
post #8 of 39
1/30/09 at 11:28am
Quote:
Originally Posted by velochic View Post
If your father is willing to help you by getting a loan in his name alone, then perhaps he could add your name to some of his credit... as he is responsible with his credit, you will also get the benefit of his good credit history. If you can be a co-signer on his loans, it would really help.
Many creditors have closed that loophole, so that form of credit abuse is no longer available.
post #9 of 39
1/30/09 at 12:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by llamalluv View Post
Many creditors have closed that loophole, so that form of credit abuse is no longer available.
How is that credit abuse? It's not like the OP would be piggybacking on a stranger's credit...this is her father
post #10 of 39
1/30/09 at 12:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by llamalluv View Post
Many creditors have closed that loophole, so that form of credit abuse is no longer available.
Eh... shows you how much I know about credit. I didn't realize that. Oh well... it was a thought.

I, too, don't realize how it's "abuse", but I can understand why the loophole is closed.
post #11 of 39
1/30/09 at 1:57pm
You could always clean up your credit My credit got totally trashed when #1 was born with SN and I lost my job. Everything went to collection and my score tanked. When she was 3-4 I cleaned up my credit to nearly perfect (had 1 item that would NOT go away!, stupid little bill marked as paid that never should have even gone to collections!) then dd #2 came along with even more SN issues and my credit got trashed AGAIN. She's 2 now and I won't even bother trying to clean it up yet until the SOL passes although I'm thinking of going after the medical stuff since there violating the law on that end and it shouldn't be there. Check out www.creditboards.com I totally cleaned up my credit the first time after a lot of reading.
post #12 of 39
1/30/09 at 1:59pm
I know that when I requested Credit cards for DP on my accounts they show up on her credit report (good and Bad) Even for the time that she did not have the cards. If you father is willing to do this for you it may be helpful. (as long as he pays things on time) DP has NEVER used the cards and it still built her credit from nothing in 2001 when we got together to BETTER than mine 8 years later!
post #13 of 39
1/30/09 at 2:11pm
Interesting. DH is the primary on our credit card accounts (just happend to be set up that way) but I'm the primary on our car loans (multiple loans over the many years we've been together although we only have one now). On the credit cards, I'm an authorized user and they show up on my credit report.
post #14 of 39
1/30/09 at 2:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by I~love~pie View Post
I would suggest a secured cc. Orchard bank has one that you send them $200 , you get a limit of $200, thats it. I think you can get a higher limit if you send them more. You are sending them that money , in case you dont pay they have your deposit.
: Ask at your regular bank (or pretty much any bank). Because you put the money up to open the account, you can open an account with pretty much whatever credit limit you can afford. I and my spouse did that with just like a $300 limit when we came back to the U.S., and between just having it and using/paying regularly, it really helped us out. A friend of ours did the same with a substantially higher limit, and he found he had access to insane lines of credit incredibly fast.
post #15 of 39
1/30/09 at 3:41pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by velochic View Post
Eh... shows you how much I know about credit. I didn't realize that. Oh well... it was a thought.

I, too, don't realize how it's "abuse", but I can understand why the loophole is closed.
Because it's fraud for profit.
post #16 of 39
1/30/09 at 3:41pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by PajamaMama View Post
How is that credit abuse? It's not like the OP would be piggybacking on a stranger's credit...this is her father

The intent is fraud.
post #17 of 39
1/30/09 at 3:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dogmom327 View Post
Interesting. DH is the primary on our credit card accounts (just happend to be set up that way) but I'm the primary on our car loans (multiple loans over the many years we've been together although we only have one now). On the credit cards, I'm an authorized user and they show up on my credit report.
It depends on the creditor.

And if you are both on the car loans, you are both on them period. It's a joint account. Primary/secondary is not an issue of authorized user - that's a cosigner or "co-borrower" situation.
post #18 of 39
1/30/09 at 4:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by llamalluv View Post
Many creditors have closed that loophole, so that form of credit abuse is no longer available.
You can still be an authorized user on someone else's cc and have that report on your credit report. DH just got a new credit card and there wasn't a spot for joint applicant but there was for authorized user. Low and behold, it showed up on my credit report.

ETA: This was supposed to change so authorized users didn't count but they decided to leave it.
post #19 of 39
1/30/09 at 4:21pm
Get a secured credit card.
post #20 of 39
1/30/09 at 4:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by lalaland42 View Post
You can still be an authorized user on someone else's cc and have that report on your credit report. DH just got a new credit card and there wasn't a spot for joint applicant but there was for authorized user. Low and behold, it showed up on my credit report.

ETA: This was supposed to change so authorized users didn't count but they decided to leave it.
Once again, it depends on the creditor. And, it's still fraud. Legal fraud, but fraud nonetheless.
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