When I was 18 I took out a capitalone credit card and got 200 bucks instant cash and took it to memphis tennessee and blew it all at a hippy festival. Now I'm 27 and I have 20,000 dollars worth of school loans and about 5k worth of doctor bills and that same capital one bill is 1800 bucks and I don't get collection notices any more they have signed me off. I am interested in making a weekly payment on my own and building it up on my own. However I don't know where to get my Fico score to start, everyone wants a 13 dollar a month subscription and I can use that money to make a payment. I went to a credit counselor and they told me I need to get current info from all of my lenders before they help me come up with a debt repayment plan. I think I am not going to use them and I'm going to do it myself. I am going to have to pay about 120 bucks a month on my school loans I can probably pay another 100 bucks a month on my credit. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. websites too.
Credit - 11 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1
Everyone in USA is entitled to a one time free credit report per year----check on google for "free credit report" and they will give you the proper web site to call it up. You can only get it once per 12 months-----; however, Im not sure you really want to see it as it is going to be depressing. Do what the credit counselor said:: write each one of your creditors requesting their best plan they have to offer (how much per month) and if willing to reduce principal. After you get those in hand you will know where to start. In the meantime, sell everything that you dont absolutely need. Downsize on the car, sell jewelery etc and raise some cash. Good luck
2
If you are able, make more than the minimum payments on these debts, because if all you make are the minimum payments, between interest and penalties you will never, repeat never succeed in paying it off. Depending on the current state of your income, consider a chapter 13 filing to protect your assets, whatever they may be. If you have the ability(financial) the 13 will allow you to repay your debts at so much on the dollar, which will result in a substantial saving in terms of interest. There is also the protection of whatever property you may have. If your income is not adequate, consider a chapter 7 filing. This will remove everything but the student loan debts, and put you in a better position to repay those. The plus side is that you get a deduction for interest paid on student loans on your 1040 form. Make no mistake, I'm not by any means telling you to ignore your obligations. Its just that at your age you can rebuild a credit history fairly easily compared to someone in their 60's in the same situation.
3
I got my credit report from freecreditreport.com, but I paid about $45 for the 3 part one (from the 3 bureaus). Each one had some different info, so it really helped. They then had me on a weekly credit check, where they make sure you know who checks your credit. After a year, you can renew it for about $10, but I decided not to do that. Once you have your report, you'll know who you need to contact. I would think you should pay the one with the highest interest first. That, or the smallest balance...to get it out of the way. Doctor bills come off of your report after 7 years, so you may want to check into that. If they are not off, contact the credit bureau to tell them the time limit is over. My hubby was stuck with some of them when he was divorced. Nine years later, he has decent credit. When I got my report, one factor that made my score lower was the fact that I only had credit for about 9 years! I was 28, so how much more time did I need?! They say time heals all wounds, and in this case, it's true. I have learned that I am not good with credit cards. I still have some, but they have a zero balance. I didn't want to close them out, in case of emergency. Good luck!
4
http://www.equifax.com/fico-credit-score/ is a 1x payment for get your credit report with your fico score (the fico is what your paying for). if you know or feel that your your fico is bad, don't pay for it. just get your free credit report. if you don't get collection notices, another collection agency will buy your debt at pennies to the dollar & contact you. you're best bet is to save your money as much as possible & make a 1x settlement. if you saved the money, you'll be surprised & how disperate they want to get paid. on one of my credit cards, i settled from $3000 to $700 with no form 1099 back in 2001.
5
If you want to do it right...you'll have to spend some money. First, you'll need to purchase a 3 in 1 report from www.myfico.com it is worth the money you'll spend because it will show your credit history and credit score from all three reporting agencies. Then look into a do it yourself credit repair company to learn more ways to clean up your credit. You could look at www.thecreditrepairmanual.com it is a low cost way to learn how to repair your credit.
6
Clean it up with credit repair. . Usually companies charge hundreds of dollars to simply pull your credit and send correctly worded dispute letters—this is the key…..people will tell you that you can do this yourself for free but the truth of the matter is that the credit bureaus will throw your letters away or simply reject them. There is an easy to use online kit that will deliver the results you want available for just $19.95 at the source website. A similar kit is being sold via infomercials and radio talk shows for seventy dollars more but they try to solicit you repeatedly for other services after the fact.
7
If you have a poor credit score, it is difficult to get a loan from most banks and financial institutions. Credit is usually available only at a very high interest rate.Only few companies provide loan with poor credit score.Check out link for details. http://l4y.info/
