Anxious to start rebuilding

[MeLLE159]

So I had my 341 meeting today and am awaiting discharge, not expecting any issues. I want to start rebuilding my credit, but there really isn't much I can do until after discharge correct?
I want to find out what my credit score is, any advice on this. I know there is a discount code available on myfico to find out my transunion and equifax numbers right now for 29.92. Should I take the plunge and find out now?
Is it okay to get a secure card now or should I just wait until I get the discharge paperwork?

[Logan]

I would wait a couple of weeks after discharge to pull your credit to make sure the credit report is reporting correctly since your accounts are not sdischarged yet.

Logan

[Amy26]

Yea, its hard to wait I know... but you don't want to try and obtain credit before you're discharged... it is not recommended and can get you in trouble with your trustee if he/she found out. And Logan is right about waiting to pull your credit... you'll probably only be really sad if you look at them now cause most people's scores actually go up a bit after discharge and some of the trade lines update. And you should probably wait a week or two just to make sure the file is settled.

[MeLLE159]

Thanks Amy26 and logan...Its so hard but I will wait until things have cooled........ thanks for the advice.

[frogger]

Right in the middle of bankruptcy and ready to get back on the hamster wheel again? IMO, you need to be discharged, and then wait about 6 months before you even think about your credit again.

[MeLLE159]

Frogger no disrespect but to each its own. I would like to build my credit as soon as I discharge. I didn't say I'm going out getting 5 credit cards I said a secured card. Waiting 6 mos to make sure my credit reports are legit doesn't make sense to me. As soon as I discharge I'm going to start rebuilding, thanks!

[frogger]

Frogger no disrespect but to each its own. I would like to build my credit as soon as I discharge. I didn't say I'm going out getting 5 credit cards I said a secured card. Waiting 6 mos to make sure my credit reports are legit doesn't make sense to me. As soon as I discharge I'm going to start rebuilding, thanks!

As I stated, in my opinion.......

Good luck, and to each their own.

[sah2]

I was in your position last summer and was also really anxious to rebuild. Right after discharge, I got a car loan (with a cosigner) and a low limit credit card ($500 Capital One), then a few months later another low limit credit card ($300 Orchard). So now, nearly six months after discharge, what has happened. MY CREDIT SCORE WENT DOWN! Why? Because of two factors: hard inquiries on my credit report and the average age of my credit cards going down (I already had one in my name as an authorized user of my husbands 20 year old Amex, so the two brand new cards are actually hurting me because they are young). I kind of wish I had just sat tight and waited. I am paying on time and keeping my utilization low, so I am hoping the scores go back up soon. Regarding checking your credit report, wait until a couple of days after your discharge. Not only do you want to make sure it is reporting correctly, if you go for one of those free trial services, like Equifax, you only get to see the score and report one time for free (the 30 day trial is for credit monitoring), so you do better to wait. You can check your score free unlimited times on CreditKarma.com, however, I found their score not very accurate, as it was much higher than my score on other sites. I still use it though, because you can update it unlimited times for free (which is how I know it went down).

[RichM]

I suggest you wait until discharge, for the reasons stated.

Once you're discharged, I suggest you obtain a secured card from someone. Try your local credit unions first: Most offer secured cards, although not all of them advertise them.

If you can't do anything through a CU (or if you want a second card), then I personally like and recommend Public Savings Bank. My reasons are: (1) approval is automatic; (2) their customer service is good; (3) they don't pull a credit report (hard, soft, nor otherwise); and (4) they report as a "regular" (that is, not as a "secured") card.

On the downside: (1) there is an annual fee of $50.00 for cards applied for as of January 1st just passed; (2) processing is slow (3 - 4 weeks) unless you pay extra for rush processing; and (3) the bank has no intention of ever letting holders "graduate" to an unsecured card. This is a permanent secured card, for lack of a better term.

I should mention that I personally prefer secured cards because I'm self-employed and like the fact that if I can't work, my obligations are backed with cash. Makes for stress-free living. I also think that secured cards are a better choice for most people coming out of BK because they force savings, and the interest rates on secured cards tend to be lower if you shop around a bit.

Also, by way of disclaimer: PSB is an advertiser on several of my Web sites. That doesn't affect what I say about them. In fact, in PSB's case (as with many of my advertisers), I carry their ads because I am their customer and am pleased with them.

-Rich

[MeLLE159]

Thanks to everyone for applying. I didn't mean I was going to get credit right away because I'm not I just want to do what's best after BK. I will wait a few days after discharge to get my report and score as of feb I will be due a free annual credit report from all three bureas so that will be nice. I just am happy to finally get another chance to be smarter in my finances. Good luck to all!

[Amy26]

I was in your position last summer and was also really anxious to rebuild. Right after discharge, I got a car loan (with a cosigner) and a low limit credit card ($500 Capital One), then a few months later another low limit credit card ($300 Orchard). So now, nearly six months after discharge, what has happened. MY CREDIT SCORE WENT DOWN! Why? Because of two factors: hard inquiries on my credit report and the average age of my credit cards going down (I already had one in my name as an authorized user of my husbands 20 year old Amex, so the two brand new cards are actually hurting me because they are young). I kind of wish I had just sat tight and waited. I am paying on time and keeping my utilization low, so I am hoping the scores go back up soon. Regarding checking your credit report, wait until a couple of days after your discharge. Not only do you want to make sure it is reporting correctly, if you go for one of those free trial services, like Equifax, you only get to see the score and report one time for free (the 30 day trial is for credit monitoring), so you do better to wait. You can check your score free unlimited times on CreditKarma.com, however, I found their score not very accurate, as it was much higher than my score on other sites. I still use it though, because you can update it unlimited times for free (which is how I know it went down).

You can use the FAKO scores as a general guide but even if your FAKO goes up or down it isn't really an accurate representation of what the actual FICO is doing. I am subscribed to a few different monitoring sites at the moment, and one of which provides me actual FICO and the other FAKO. Sometimes my FAKO score will go down but the FICO doesn't move at all. So, it isn't even totally accurate with going up and down indicators. And really once you get all your reports cleaned up and then establish some credit (and use it properly) the only thing that is going to affect the score positively is time...

You're average age of accounts is gonna get hit no matter if you start rebuilding immediately or wait till later. IMO, better to start sooner to start building back up the AAoA faster. Also, scores are calculated in buckets... so, if you're average age of accounts is over 5 years, you're generally lumped into a scoring bucket with some pretty top notch credit users... so your scores could actually be impacted negatively depending on what you're accounts look like. Now, with someone who has an average age from like 1-2 years... they are being scored along side less experienced consumers, so they may actually have more favorable scores than another post BK person with a very large Average age of accounts.

[dasherkin]

i started way before my discharge, I dispute everything that didn't say included in bankruptcy by the time my discharge came every thing was showing IIB and 0 balance. I have 1 credit report that's showing i have past due amounts of 600.00 i don't think you should get any credit but asking the c.c to start putting IIB i don't see how that can be a problem