iwantcookies

hey found these steps on the blog about how to fix credit after bankruptcy -
http://blog.creditkarma.com/credit-scores/dear-credit-karma-fixing-credit-after-bankruptcy/


hope they can help you out! good luck!

A few ways a new credit card will affect your credit score:

1) Hard inquiry, minus points. Applying for a credit card will ding your score a few points because the credit card issuer will do a hard inquiry on your credit report to check your credit history and score.

2) More credit, plus points. A big part of your score is your credit card utilization rate, which is how much credit you use versus the total credit you have across all credit cards. So if you add a card, that gives you more available credit which will lower your credit card utilization rate.

3) Using credit, possibly minus points. The biggest way another credit card will hurt your score is if you mismanage it, i.e accrue debt on it, max out your credit limit, miss payments, etc. so it will definitely will hurt your credit score if you don't properly use your card.

hope this helps!

checking via Credit Karma, which you can update daily if you wanted to, will never hurt your credit score either.

basically, NO, making payments twice a month can't hurt your credit score.

paying in full so you do not carry debt will help your credit score, and staying at a low credit utilization rate (the amount of total credit you use versus how much credit you have available) of 20-30% of your total credit is also good for your credit score.

so it looks like you are on the right track to a credit score boost if paying twice a month helps keep your payments on-time, and your debt and your credit utilization down.

Credit Karma gets its credit scores from TransUnion, one of the three major credit bureaus. So I'd say very accurate =).

I stand corrected:

"Being added as an authorized user to a credit card will no longer help you build a credit history. After credit-repair companies took advantage of the system and lenders protested, score-keeping companies are ignoring authorized-user information."
(http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/CollegeAndFamily/MoneyInYour20s/9waysToBuildAKillerCreditScore.aspx)

I'm going to guess if your credit score can't be improved as an authorized user, it can't be damaged either.

Thanks for help @johnqtaxpaye!

It'll help if you and your wife manage the card well, which means paying monthly payments on time and in full, keeping your credit utilization rate under 30%, not accruing too much debt on it, and generally use credit responsibly.

When the credit card is added to your credit report, its possible your score will raise because it will add more available credit to your credit file.

However, since both yours and your wife's name is on the card, every negative action either of you take will impact both of your credit scores. That means if your wife forgets to pay on time, your credit score suffers along with hers, and vice versa.

The golden rule is always to pay on-time and use responsibly, and your credit score will improve over time.

Ooo..this is a tough one. Sorry you're going through such a hard time!

You can get your name off the auto loan and mortgage if he refinances it, meaning you both have to agree and go through the process of getting your name off of the loan in favor of another loan that only bears your ex-husband's name.

For the credit card, I would contact the credit card issuer myself and ask them the procedure for removing your name from the card. It will also likely take your husband's cooperation, but you should take it into your own hands to start dealing with it.

Pull your credit report (free at annualcreditreport.com) and go through every line item to figure out which loans and credit cards you and your ex-husband share. Taking your name off of it will likely take both you and your ex-husband's effort, so bring it up with him and discuss how you can both handle it. The mortgage and auto loan will be more difficult, but do your best because if you don't get out of it, you'll be liable for the duration of the loan--- probably years and years. Which means your credit score will remain vulnerable to whatever happens to those loans.

Good luck!

possibly because when you add a credit card, it comes with a hard inquiry that can ding your credit score. but it shouldn't drop so far.

good credit scores are a mix of a lot of factors and financial actions, so maybe try inputting some more information in the credit simulator, like a higher credit limit, some increased debt, on-time payments (other factors that go along with getting a new credit card)... maybe you'll find that all of these components that simulate your actual use of a credit card will help to improve your credit score. Just an idea =)

Check out Credit Karma's Credit Report Card and see how you are doing on each component of your credit report. It gives you a letter grade so you know what you need to improve on.

Or, check out Credit Karma's Credit Simulator... it helped me figure out that if I just paid off my two credit cards, my score is estimated to go up 33 points! Safe to say, I'm in the process of paying them off as we speak....

This blog post on Debt Consolidation and Debt Settlement might be helpful!

http://blog.creditkarma.com/personal-finance/debt-consolidation-vs-debt-settlement-the-right-debt-relief-plan-for-you/

This one, on using Lending Club for debt consolidation, might be a good choice for you too:
http://blog.creditkarma.com/credit-scores/review-debt-consolidation-loans-with-lending-club/

Good luck with dealing with debt... its a tough road but hey, at least you're trekking it.

Since you're already checking out your credit report, it's a GREAT idea to check for any errors and inaccuracies that might be listed there. Some ridiculous amount of credit reports... something like 8 out of 10... have mistakes on it due to credit bureaus' inaccurate information. So sweep your credit report for any mistakes, and if you find it, dispute it immediately with the credit bureaus.

Watch your credit card utilization rate too, which is your debt to available credit ratio. The "experts" say to keep your monthly spending under 30% of your total available credit across all your credit cards.

So don't max out your credit card but don't under-use your card either. Less than 30%. Give it a shot. Let me know if it helps your score a little bit!

FYI... It deals with addressing the credit inaccuracy via your credit report by contacting the lenders and credit bureau

Check out this response.. it's got step by step instructions!

http://www.creditkarma.com/question/credit_report_has_wrong_data

I just graduated too and student loans can be a real killer on your credit score if you don't remember to make every monthly payment on time and in full.

Another suggestions besides the other smart tips above is to not only pay off your credit cards, but watch your credit utilization rate. That is the ratio of your debt to available credit, which is another way of saying how much of your cards' total credit limit you are using (check out more info at http://www.creditkarma.com/article/CreditCardUtilizationAndScore). The general rule of thumb is to keep your credit utilization under 30%, and to NEVER max out your cards.

I've found that the two biggest actions that improve my credit score every single month is getting rid of debt and keeping my credit utilization way under 30%. If you do that plus keep up great payment history with your student loans, I think your credit score will be stellar shape. Good luck!!

First, look under the hood and pull up both your and your wife's credit report on AnnualCreditReport.com (it's a government-mandated site that provides free credit reports once a year from each of the three credit bureaus).

Both of your scores might be getting mistakenly damaged by errors, inaccuracies, and misreported information on your credit reports. If you find errors that are likely dinging your score, report right away to the credit bureaus.

Second, you mention that "our score" dipped to 718. Unless the two of you took out a loan, mortgage, or other line of credit together (which effectively joins your credit history so that both of your financial actions impact both scores), your credit scores do not impact each other's after marriage. You two have separate credit scores.

BUT, if you both took out a loan or credit together, its possible your wife has a huge negative financial action in her credit history that is dragging down both of your scores. So if your wife had a bankruptcy in the past you don't know about, you can bet that your credit score is going to feel it.

If you've gone through everything above and your score is STILL depressingly low, maybe take more positive actions. One of the components of a credit score is a mix of credit, such as a few credit cards AND an auto loan AND a mortgage AND etc. It also takes a healthy amount of credit utilization (under the Credit Karma Credit Report Card), which is your debt to available credit ratio. Check out the rest of your Credit Karma Credit Report Card to see what other components of your credit report you can work on.

GOOD LUCK!

Wow, thanks for all the help. I understand it better now!

Yea, sounds like the credit bureaus mistakenly didn't include the loan on your son's history. Surprisingly, errors on credit reports happen far too often.

Definitely check it out so he can benefit from it being on his credit report and building his credit history.

Consider calling your issuer and asking, that way you know for sure.

Either way, make sure you don't sit and wait until you find out the hard way-- when they actually charge your debt off. =| Not a great way to hear about it....

Watch for any rate hikes or additional fees on your cards though. You may not use them often and thus not check in on them, but issuers could sneak in and add some crazy charge you don't realize is there until it's too late.

Since you pay it off in full thought, at least you are never paying interest on it and you get a healthy credit history from it. Nice!

AnnualCreditReport.com all the way!!

Thank you for the info!

realsugar is totally right.

However, just because your credit score is up, doesn't mean you're in good credit standing. Despite a decent credit score, when lenders and issuers see a recent bankruptcy in your credit history, you can likely still be denied credit or a loan, or offered sky-high rates.

If you want some help fixing your credit, check out CK's blog post on fixing credit after bankruptcy.. http://blog.creditkarma.com/credit-scores/dear-credit-karma-fixing-credit-after-bankruptcy/.

There's still hope for you and your credit score.

If you do plan to close a credit card, MAKE SURE IT'S FULLY PAID OFF! Otherwise, you and your leftover debt may get sent to collections and wreck havoc on your credit score.