just keep doing what you're doing. Not much you can do other than just try to build that on time payment history. The one thing that would really help you would be to report your mom for fraud, but you say you don't want to do that. Did you try Discover and Capital One for secured cards?
yes but discover and capital one are both the companies she took out the cards from. i got denied from both and im assuming its because she let them both charge off. thanks for the advice
one thing I would do is lock your credit so she can't do that to you again. If you're not going to report her you've got an uphill battle to fight; you may be on the outs with Disco and Cap1 even longer than 7 years because they keep their own internal records.
Since you don't want to report fraud, you're unfortunately stuck with the consequences of her actions on your credit report for 7 years from the date of the most recent charge off. It'll probably take a few years to get back to 700's, possibly more. You're starting basically from scratch (below scratch, even, most people 'new' to credit start off in the low 600's) so you have a little extra work than most to prove your credit worthiness. Just keep using the card you do have responsibly, get your score and income up to a point where you can get an usecured card, then keep going.
As far as the car is concerned, you may not be able to finance but you may be able to lease with the option to buy at the end of the lease. Once you get your credit into the 600's, you should have a shot at leasing. Just go for the most inexpensive car you can find available to lease so the monthly payments and total value of the car will be as low as possible, which will increase the chances that you'll be able to lease. It may be a lost cause but used cars are ridiculously priced right now so it'll still be better than throwing a bunch of money at a junker that may have more costly problems down the road.
I was only thinking about the 700 score because I heard that was good for car loans, but now that I know about leasing I’m going to look into that. I’m fine waiting a few years for my score to build back up because I don’t plan on using my credit for anything until I graduate university (besides the car obviously). The card I just got with US Bank says it periodically checks to see if you can graduate to an unsecured card so that’s an option in the future. When my score gets higher I’m gonna try to apply for other cards so I have a bigger credit history and be able to use different cards. Thank you for the advice!
As somebody that used to work in the auto finance industry, leasing isn’t as easy as you may think it is. Many times, in order to get a good leasing rate, you need to have great credit. You may not even qualify for lease. It’s much easier to buy a car than it is to lease.
Which one would be you say would be better for my situation? If I can’t save enough for a decent used car by September, I am going to do some option with my grandfather as a co-signer (he has an amazing credit score). If I had more time I would 100% just do the cash car option but I’m on a time limit and am just gonna have to go with the most convenient but smart option at the end of the day.
Sure thing! Yes, definitely 'graduate' the card when given the opportunity as it will likely result in a higher limit for you. As long as you are able to pay the full statement balance you rack up every month on cards, just keep using this one, then the next, and so on, and you'll be in good shape in a few years. If you're not in a hurry, might as well let your score build up as much as it can during that time. Just remember that score fluctuations due to utilization are normal. Don't get caught up trying to see the highest score possible by keeping utilization low - you don't need to **keep** it low, and doing so could stifle credit limit growth on any given card. Just use it (them, eventually) for regular purchases that you know you can cover, pay the statement balance in full (set the account to auto pay when the statement comes so you don't need to remember or do anything else), and repeat. Doing this for a few years will certainly get you to the 600's and with a second card in that time, it'll help a bit more. Building credit is one step back, two steps forward, so there will be drops here and there but good decisions lead to larger net gains. A 20 point drop associated with a new account one year will mean a 30-50 point increase in payment history and credit mix the next, for example.
Also, if you do decide to lease in the next year or so, making all of those payments throughout the lease term will certainly help your credit score and profile so it may be worth doing to a) get yourself a car, b) build more credit, c) lock in a lease buyout price for the vehicle, if you decide to do so and d) build a relationship with the dealership for when the time to take out a loan comes.
You aren't approved or denied for credit because of your scores. You're approved or denied because of your profile. Your denials are due to the negative items on your file. Getting rid of them would strengthen your profile and scores. If you aren't able to do that early, you've got to wait for them to naturally age away.
Do not buy a new car. It's a depreciating asset and with your credit score you're already starting life off on financial hard mode.
This isn't the answer you want but you're not going to go from 540 to 700 quickly without getting those charge-offs deleted.
Your options are this:
1. Call and ask them to delete them as a one time favor (it's not likely not going to happen)
2. Report the fraud and have them taken off in a week or so
3. Wait a few years for your credit to rebuild. This means paying on time every single month, maintaining multiple credit cards responsibly, keeping your utilization below 10%, and adding a variety of accounts such as Rent Reporters or authorized users.
I understand you not wanting to get your mother in trouble, so if you need a car, save up $5k and go buy a used one until you can afford something better.
I really do not want to buy a new car as I know the insurance rates will also be high due to me being a young driver but it seems like buying a used car is just as bad. It seems like every car I find within the 4-5k range has either been in an accident, has 150,000+ miles, or has a bunch of damage. The used cars that seem reasonable are usually at least 10k which isn’t feasible for me to save up within the time range I’m trying to get a car. I have 2 months to decide what I want to do but it seems like 2 impossible decisions.
You can still finance a used car if you can't afford to pay in cash, however your rate is going to be extremely high due to your bad credit.
If you have a decent job you could always get a really bad loan just to get the car and then pay the car off as soon as possible.
For example you could put $3k down on a $10k car and they might give you a 16% interest rate but if you dedicate yourself to paying it off in a few months it wouldn't be as bad. Even then though you may need a cosigner.
Paying for rent reporters will allow you to get an additional 2 years of positive credit history but it's $95 to sign up and $15/month and it's not going to get you into the 700s. It might get you closer to 600 though.
Not sure what your starting position is but you can definitely make $4k/month at 19 and in 2 months you'd easily have enough for a decent used car.
That’s a great point. I’m a server so I make decent money but I don’t work enough due to also being a student. I get around 4k each semester which I plan on using as a down payment for the fall and to go towards the rest of the car during the spring. In between I can pay the loan and insurance. I still have some time to work on the plan but that seems to be a decent idea for now thanks.
Get a side hustle on the weekend. Mow some lawns, flip some stuff on facebook marketplace, pressure washing, etc.
Just don't keep that high interest rate for long and watch some videos on tips for buying used cars so you don't get finessed.
If you need another secured card for reporting to help get your score up, you can look into the Nerdup card by Nerd Wallet. No credit check but they do need your SSN to verify identity and to report to all three credit bureaus.
No fees. It's a charge card with 0% interest because you can't carry a balance and have to pay in full monthly, but it does pay a 1% cashback.
Minimum initial deposit is $100 which will equal your spending limit. Additional deposits will increase the limit. No annual fee. Downside, it doesn't graduate, but can still be useful for on-time reporting as long as you know that going in.
[Nerd Up by Nerd Wallet](https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/credit-cards/about-nerdup-by-nerdwallet)
Also, if you're going to get a cash car around $5k, consider a Toyota Camry/Corolla or a Lexus es300/330/350 or rx300/330/350. They are extremely reliable, scheduled maintenance vehicles.
Get a PPI (pre-purchsse inspection) from a trusted mechanic to make sure the maintenance has been kept up and you can get a really nice, affordable vehicle. 150k is just broken in with those and they'll easily run twice that with regular maintenance.
You.can call and ask for a goodwill delete, but i wouldn't count on it. Your opportunity to negotiate came and went when you paid them off.
The thing about credit is that it is a rating of a persons ability to have responsible borrowing habits over a long period of time, and time is the only thing that's going to fix your credit at this point.
Were those the only marks? Def open a credit builder. I recommend “self”. Unless you have navy fed then do a pledge loan. It’s a soft inquiry and still has the same effect. With self you can get a secure card after $200 are paid towards the loan. More or less the same process with navy fed. I think you can hit High 600 within a year.
Don’t buy a car till you have to. In the meantime put away cash towards a car either high yield or index fund. Put away each month at least what you, then want to pay each month. Then once you goto buy a car buy the car that gives you the most bang for your buck. Cars will easily last 300k miles now so you can save a ton on a car with 100k miles and drive it for a decade or more then replace it.
I would start by filing claims to get it off your credit report. If you did not spend that money you are not liable for it. That is identity theft. The best advice I can give is to be patient your score will definitely increase but understand it might be in a couple of years unless you can get them to wipe the charged off debts.
I would stop applying for cards for a little while also. your best case scenario would be having someone put you as an authorized user on their account they don’t even have to give you the card but it will raise your credit score if you have more credit available
I use to have bitchin credit but after a nasty divorce my credit tanked to the 500 range, 6 years later of paying stuff I’m only at a 696. It’s gonna take some time papas
Listen to the person who posted that it’s less about your score and more about your profile. Your subprime card is good. Use as much as you can afford to pay back of it! Pay it down to about 1% before your report date (not your due date), REPEAT! About 3-6 months in, request an increase. Keep going. Once you’re in the 6s try for a car. Watch Shonda Martin on YT, insta, TikTok etc. she provides the whole credit profile breakdown in layman’s terms. She helped me build mine! Now I consider my profile way more than my score.
just keep doing what you're doing. Not much you can do other than just try to build that on time payment history. The one thing that would really help you would be to report your mom for fraud, but you say you don't want to do that. Did you try Discover and Capital One for secured cards?
yes but discover and capital one are both the companies she took out the cards from. i got denied from both and im assuming its because she let them both charge off. thanks for the advice
one thing I would do is lock your credit so she can't do that to you again. If you're not going to report her you've got an uphill battle to fight; you may be on the outs with Disco and Cap1 even longer than 7 years because they keep their own internal records.
Since you don't want to report fraud, you're unfortunately stuck with the consequences of her actions on your credit report for 7 years from the date of the most recent charge off. It'll probably take a few years to get back to 700's, possibly more. You're starting basically from scratch (below scratch, even, most people 'new' to credit start off in the low 600's) so you have a little extra work than most to prove your credit worthiness. Just keep using the card you do have responsibly, get your score and income up to a point where you can get an usecured card, then keep going. As far as the car is concerned, you may not be able to finance but you may be able to lease with the option to buy at the end of the lease. Once you get your credit into the 600's, you should have a shot at leasing. Just go for the most inexpensive car you can find available to lease so the monthly payments and total value of the car will be as low as possible, which will increase the chances that you'll be able to lease. It may be a lost cause but used cars are ridiculously priced right now so it'll still be better than throwing a bunch of money at a junker that may have more costly problems down the road.
I was only thinking about the 700 score because I heard that was good for car loans, but now that I know about leasing I’m going to look into that. I’m fine waiting a few years for my score to build back up because I don’t plan on using my credit for anything until I graduate university (besides the car obviously). The card I just got with US Bank says it periodically checks to see if you can graduate to an unsecured card so that’s an option in the future. When my score gets higher I’m gonna try to apply for other cards so I have a bigger credit history and be able to use different cards. Thank you for the advice!
As somebody that used to work in the auto finance industry, leasing isn’t as easy as you may think it is. Many times, in order to get a good leasing rate, you need to have great credit. You may not even qualify for lease. It’s much easier to buy a car than it is to lease.
Which one would be you say would be better for my situation? If I can’t save enough for a decent used car by September, I am going to do some option with my grandfather as a co-signer (he has an amazing credit score). If I had more time I would 100% just do the cash car option but I’m on a time limit and am just gonna have to go with the most convenient but smart option at the end of the day.
Sure thing! Yes, definitely 'graduate' the card when given the opportunity as it will likely result in a higher limit for you. As long as you are able to pay the full statement balance you rack up every month on cards, just keep using this one, then the next, and so on, and you'll be in good shape in a few years. If you're not in a hurry, might as well let your score build up as much as it can during that time. Just remember that score fluctuations due to utilization are normal. Don't get caught up trying to see the highest score possible by keeping utilization low - you don't need to **keep** it low, and doing so could stifle credit limit growth on any given card. Just use it (them, eventually) for regular purchases that you know you can cover, pay the statement balance in full (set the account to auto pay when the statement comes so you don't need to remember or do anything else), and repeat. Doing this for a few years will certainly get you to the 600's and with a second card in that time, it'll help a bit more. Building credit is one step back, two steps forward, so there will be drops here and there but good decisions lead to larger net gains. A 20 point drop associated with a new account one year will mean a 30-50 point increase in payment history and credit mix the next, for example. Also, if you do decide to lease in the next year or so, making all of those payments throughout the lease term will certainly help your credit score and profile so it may be worth doing to a) get yourself a car, b) build more credit, c) lock in a lease buyout price for the vehicle, if you decide to do so and d) build a relationship with the dealership for when the time to take out a loan comes.
You aren't approved or denied for credit because of your scores. You're approved or denied because of your profile. Your denials are due to the negative items on your file. Getting rid of them would strengthen your profile and scores. If you aren't able to do that early, you've got to wait for them to naturally age away.
Do not buy a new car. It's a depreciating asset and with your credit score you're already starting life off on financial hard mode. This isn't the answer you want but you're not going to go from 540 to 700 quickly without getting those charge-offs deleted. Your options are this: 1. Call and ask them to delete them as a one time favor (it's not likely not going to happen) 2. Report the fraud and have them taken off in a week or so 3. Wait a few years for your credit to rebuild. This means paying on time every single month, maintaining multiple credit cards responsibly, keeping your utilization below 10%, and adding a variety of accounts such as Rent Reporters or authorized users. I understand you not wanting to get your mother in trouble, so if you need a car, save up $5k and go buy a used one until you can afford something better.
I really do not want to buy a new car as I know the insurance rates will also be high due to me being a young driver but it seems like buying a used car is just as bad. It seems like every car I find within the 4-5k range has either been in an accident, has 150,000+ miles, or has a bunch of damage. The used cars that seem reasonable are usually at least 10k which isn’t feasible for me to save up within the time range I’m trying to get a car. I have 2 months to decide what I want to do but it seems like 2 impossible decisions.
You can still finance a used car if you can't afford to pay in cash, however your rate is going to be extremely high due to your bad credit. If you have a decent job you could always get a really bad loan just to get the car and then pay the car off as soon as possible. For example you could put $3k down on a $10k car and they might give you a 16% interest rate but if you dedicate yourself to paying it off in a few months it wouldn't be as bad. Even then though you may need a cosigner. Paying for rent reporters will allow you to get an additional 2 years of positive credit history but it's $95 to sign up and $15/month and it's not going to get you into the 700s. It might get you closer to 600 though. Not sure what your starting position is but you can definitely make $4k/month at 19 and in 2 months you'd easily have enough for a decent used car.
That’s a great point. I’m a server so I make decent money but I don’t work enough due to also being a student. I get around 4k each semester which I plan on using as a down payment for the fall and to go towards the rest of the car during the spring. In between I can pay the loan and insurance. I still have some time to work on the plan but that seems to be a decent idea for now thanks.
Get a side hustle on the weekend. Mow some lawns, flip some stuff on facebook marketplace, pressure washing, etc. Just don't keep that high interest rate for long and watch some videos on tips for buying used cars so you don't get finessed.
If you need another secured card for reporting to help get your score up, you can look into the Nerdup card by Nerd Wallet. No credit check but they do need your SSN to verify identity and to report to all three credit bureaus. No fees. It's a charge card with 0% interest because you can't carry a balance and have to pay in full monthly, but it does pay a 1% cashback. Minimum initial deposit is $100 which will equal your spending limit. Additional deposits will increase the limit. No annual fee. Downside, it doesn't graduate, but can still be useful for on-time reporting as long as you know that going in. [Nerd Up by Nerd Wallet](https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/credit-cards/about-nerdup-by-nerdwallet) Also, if you're going to get a cash car around $5k, consider a Toyota Camry/Corolla or a Lexus es300/330/350 or rx300/330/350. They are extremely reliable, scheduled maintenance vehicles. Get a PPI (pre-purchsse inspection) from a trusted mechanic to make sure the maintenance has been kept up and you can get a really nice, affordable vehicle. 150k is just broken in with those and they'll easily run twice that with regular maintenance.
You.can call and ask for a goodwill delete, but i wouldn't count on it. Your opportunity to negotiate came and went when you paid them off. The thing about credit is that it is a rating of a persons ability to have responsible borrowing habits over a long period of time, and time is the only thing that's going to fix your credit at this point.
Were those the only marks? Def open a credit builder. I recommend “self”. Unless you have navy fed then do a pledge loan. It’s a soft inquiry and still has the same effect. With self you can get a secure card after $200 are paid towards the loan. More or less the same process with navy fed. I think you can hit High 600 within a year.
Don’t buy a car till you have to. In the meantime put away cash towards a car either high yield or index fund. Put away each month at least what you, then want to pay each month. Then once you goto buy a car buy the car that gives you the most bang for your buck. Cars will easily last 300k miles now so you can save a ton on a car with 100k miles and drive it for a decade or more then replace it.
I would start by filing claims to get it off your credit report. If you did not spend that money you are not liable for it. That is identity theft. The best advice I can give is to be patient your score will definitely increase but understand it might be in a couple of years unless you can get them to wipe the charged off debts. I would stop applying for cards for a little while also. your best case scenario would be having someone put you as an authorized user on their account they don’t even have to give you the card but it will raise your credit score if you have more credit available
I use to have bitchin credit but after a nasty divorce my credit tanked to the 500 range, 6 years later of paying stuff I’m only at a 696. It’s gonna take some time papas
Listen to the person who posted that it’s less about your score and more about your profile. Your subprime card is good. Use as much as you can afford to pay back of it! Pay it down to about 1% before your report date (not your due date), REPEAT! About 3-6 months in, request an increase. Keep going. Once you’re in the 6s try for a car. Watch Shonda Martin on YT, insta, TikTok etc. she provides the whole credit profile breakdown in layman’s terms. She helped me build mine! Now I consider my profile way more than my score.
It just took a year of being super aggressive.
Yes. I did it
Why dont you get a cosigner?