Just got approved for Cap1 CC!

[BobMango]

I agree 100%, LSU. If you discharged any cc debt that was a balance carry-over (meaning that it wasn't incurred that month and had incurred no interest), it was an issue contributing to the BK. Anyone who carries a cc balance, because they couldn't pay the balance in full that month, paid for things with a cc that they didn't have cash for and couldn't afford.

IMO, though, it doesn't matter why or how anyone got here. It doesn't matter whether it was because of poor judgment, bad choices, mental illness, physical illness, business gone bad, divorce, etc. We are here. We've been given a clean slate and we must now do everything within our power to make sure we don't end up here again. I've obtained credit since my discharge as have many people here. Be smart, use it wisely and don't live beyond your means.

I agree with the second paragraph here, but the the first is a great example of a difference without a distinction. The bottom line is that if we had no debt we would not have needed to file bankruptcy. I would have paid all of my credit card debt had it not been for the hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses on real estate and stock market investments, coupled with a significant loss of income. So in my case I was forced into bankruptcy by those deficiencies and the associated tax consequences, not a few thousand in credit card balances. The credit cards just allowed me to forestall bankruptcy by a few months.

Bottom line is that if you want to purchase a new home post bankruptcy, you will have more and better options with a better credit record. In order to do that you need to have a variety of credit lines. Assuming that credit cards are the evil that contributed in some way to every bankruptcy in which credit card debt was discharged is myopic at best.

My best advice? In no particular order - repair your credit post bankruptcy as much as possible, avoid debt (in whatever form) as best you can, save as much as you can. Everyone will approach these differently; we are individuals after all. Some will avoid credit cards given their rabid hatred of credit card companies. Others will decide to only drive cars they can afford to pay for with cash. Whatever works for you, do it.

[debtnomore]

i was discharged early feb '10 and included a capone car in the bk and had it repo'ed a few weeks ago

applied for capone credit card and got $1000 card, 0% until 12/10, $39 annual fee, goes up to $1500 limit in 3 months of on-time payments

was denied by pretty much every other credit card (didn't go for ones with higher fees or app fees or monthly fees)

also got roadloans 14.55% interest car loan; our family went from a 400 and 450/month car payments to one car at 330/month...now we can save the difference towards our next car and avoid paying so much interest...we also now have $4k in savings thanks to yearly bonus...first time we got a bonus and didn't have to put it directly to debt paydown...feels good to have a +net worth now instead of negative one

[cupcake]

You can't discharge credit card debt in BK and tell people it's not an issue. It is very much a part of the equation.

I agree 100%, LSU. If you discharged any cc debt that was a balance carry-over (meaning that it wasn't incurred that month and had incurred no interest), it was an issue contributing to the BK. Anyone who carries a cc balance, because they couldn't pay the balance in full that month, paid for things with a cc that they didn't have cash for and couldn't afford.

IMO, though, it doesn't matter why or how anyone got here. It doesn't matter whether it was because of poor judgment, bad choices, mental illness, physical illness, business gone bad, divorce, etc. We are here. We've been given a clean slate and we must now do everything within our power to make sure we don't end up here again. I've obtained credit since my discharge as have many people here. Be smart, use it wisely and don't live beyond your means.

[LSUTiger32]

LSUTiger32, in response to your comment..

"You can't discharge credit card debt in BK and tell people it's not an issue. It is very much a part of the equation."

Yes, I can, as it was not an issue at all.
Our personal cc debt was less than 2% of our total unsecured/discharged debt. If we could have just discharged the items guaranteed & associated with our business we would have. We would have gladly kept our cards & the credit they would generate for us now. We would not be here playing this darn game in trying to get a couple cards with the best terms possable.

All I am saying is there is no blanket policy to cover everyone. We all need to find what our weekness was and streangthen that area so when we finally work our way out of this hole we never come back.

We all took different routes but ended up in the same parking lot!

OK, you win. You just felt like charging things even though you could afford them, for the fun of it......I guess?

[NanaOf11]

We all took different routes but ended up in the same parking lot!

LSUTiger32, in response to your comment..

"You can't discharge credit card debt in BK and tell people it's not an issue. It is very much a part of the equation."

Yes, I can, as it was not an issue at all.
Our personal cc debt was less than 2% of our total unsecured/discharged debt. If we could have just discharged the items guaranteed & associated with our business we would have. We would have gladly kept our cards & the credit they would generate for us now. We would not be here playing this darn game in trying to get a couple cards with the best terms possable.

All I am saying is there is no blanket policy to cover everyone. We all need to find what our weekness was and streangthen that area so when we finally work our way out of this hole we never come back.

We all took different routes but ended up in the same parking lot!

[LSUTiger32]

Exactly! And thank you !!

Oh, and Congrats on your Cap1 CL increase!!

Hey, I just wanted to say one more time that I hope you do not think that I was trying to be a punk. I have a great disdain for credit card companies and I guess I was trying to remind people of the scum bags that they are. If you feel like that is the only way you are even going to get a house again then I understand. I think you are wrong, but you have to do what you have to do.

I sincerely apologize if I came off smug to anyone. I am done with my BK and could easily ride off into the sunset but I received so much help here I am trying to give some back. I did not mean to offend anyone in my attempt to help.

I still can't get over the debt free credit card comment though, that is the reason I got so riled up.

[mom2three09]

I agree that LSUTiger32 meant no harm. But LSUTiger32 kept his house in his bankruptcy and has a car and has no need for credit. Not everyone on this board is in that situation.

I personally do not want to project my situation onto anyone here. I have no idea what anyone on this board makes a year, what they own, or what their other debt obligations are (ie student loans, second mortgages, etc....) What works for some on this board may not work for others. YMMV.

That being said, this is a rebuilding credit thread. The posters to this thread are refraining from posting in the main chapter 7 thread about their new cards, etc. The purpose of this thread is to help each other with strategies for rebuilding credit. Those that are not interested in rebuilding their credit need not participate in this thread.

I don't want to live in fear of credit post bk. I do not see this board as some sort of 12 step meeting for my past debt problems where I will be chastised for "falling off the wagon" if I get a new credit card. My personal goals are well defined by me, and I am working methodically to achieve them, and when I post information on this thread, it is to help others with similar goals.

Exactly! And thank you !!

Oh, and Congrats on your Cap1 CL increase!!

[LSUTiger32]

Just read all these posts again...

It would seem in reading all your posts that everyone filing bk had cc problems causing or complicating their situation pre-bk.

This is simply not true...
We had cc dept, the means to pay and even a willingness to repay our unsecured personal dept! Our attorney looked as us like we were nuts when we told him we wanted to keep & even reaffirm our personal Visa, Sears, Home Depot & all three auto loans. He ultimately talked us out of reaffirming the plastic, but you see our cards were not the problem, source or even a complication IN OUR CASE. We lost our business where we had stupidly guaranteed several business accts leaving us personally responsible for a hefty amt we could never pay without the biz.

I really wish folks would stop assuming "Everyone" has a problem with credit cards. Everyone here had some financial problem they personally must address so as not to return for the same reason!

We "want" a good credit score... What does it matter "why", we just do!

If you got in trouble with cc then make it a lesson learned, just as we have learned guaranteeing business contracts is not the way to go.

I agree, cc company's are crooks & reporting agencies are a big racket as well but if you need/want a good score you play the game. We are here talking about the game & the crappy rules required to play.

If you don't want to play the credit building game, so be it.. Leave the credit building section.

Look I really don't want to continue on this thread because as BTS said, it's a rebuilding credit thread and if you think that is important then good luck with it. I am still of the same opinion but that's irrelevant.

That said...I fully understand that not everyone files BK due to credit card debt. In fact most people file not because it, because it is usually never the PROBLEM but instead the SYMPTOM. It may be medical debt, loss of an income or in my case real estate. Yes, I could have also struggled through my credit card debt but included it in the BK. Does that make it OK? That does lessen the blow that in my darkest moments I spent my time begging the leeches to re-think the 30% rate jack? Not one bit.

This time if I run into an emergency, I have this crazy thing called a savings account. Now if I get into trouble, I won't fall back on the credit cards to survive and I won't get into the same mess.

You can't discharge credit card debt in BK and tell people it's not an issue. It is very much a part of the equation.

[LSUTiger32]

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and I am not offended whatsoever by LSU's position on post-BK credit. I also don't think anything he has said thus far was meant to be snide or insulting. And, if you choose to take his words as such, that's your reaction and how you chose to respond. We can only responsible for ourselves and if you choose to get defensive and be offended by what he said, well, that's all on you.

Personally, I have obtained two new cc's since BK. I was discharged in July, 2009 and since then, I got a CapOne card with a $1,500 limit and a Hooters card with a $700 limit. I also have a Macy's Visa that survived my BK with a $1,000 limit and a couple others that survived with smaller limits. The balances on all of the cards are zero. I don't carry them with me and I have us used them only a few times over the last eight months.

I am acutely aware of the danger associated with these little plastic explosives. Quite honestly, it scares the hell out of me because I *know* how it works; I've been there. Not a single person here ever intended to get over their heads in cc debt and it didn't happen overnight. It happened slowly; we were short on cash and made one small purchase here and another small purchase days or weeks later. Small purchases add up so quickly and it doesn't take much before you decide to make just the minimum payment "this month." And, considering our current economy, we have no financial security. Most people don't have a guaranteed paycheck and it will not take much for our worlds to come crashing down on us.

With the credit I have available on cc's I have right now, I could potentially get myself back in $3,800 worth of debt IN ONE DAY. I'm also pretty sure that I could go get financing for a new car while I'm out on that shopping spree. So, I could really run out today and get myself into debt today to the tune of about $25k. And, sadly, people here have done it. They do it all the time. Look at me, I got a new credit card! Look at me, I financed a new vehicle! I understand that people need things and they need cars but seriously, jumping back into the debt cycle after the painful and life altering process of BK just ain't cool.

The process changed my life so much that I am a different person than I was two years ago. Two years ago, cupcake bought things on credit cards that she couldn't afford, had no business purchasing and knew she'd not be paying off that month. Bpttom line: she lived beyond her means. Today, cupcake's lifestyle is much different. She hasn't put a single thing on a cc that she knew she wouldn't pay off or couldn't afford. She has 18 months' salary stashed in her savings and last summer she purchased a $10k vehicle with cash. She has no monthly bills other than rent, standard utilities and car insurance. Cupcake doesn't wake up in the middle of the night anymore worried about paying her bills. She doesn't rob Peter to pay Paul every month and she doesn't live for her next paycheck. She went through hell and back two years ago because of a divorce and resulting BK but, in the end, she's a stronger, smarter and better person for all of it.

Just like everyone else here, LSU went through it too. He remembers what it was like and doesn't want to see anyone "innocently" get themselves back into cc debt. His opinions aren't meant to insult anyone, be snide or condescending. He just wants to make sure none of us get back to our old habits and lifestyles. He has good intentions, I am sure of it.

Thank you so much CC!! I couldn't have said it better, so I won't!

[NanaOf11]

Just read all these posts again...

It would seem in reading all your posts that everyone filing bk had cc problems causing or complicating their situation pre-bk.

This is simply not true...
We had cc dept, the means to pay and even a willingness to repay our unsecured personal dept! Our attorney looked as us like we were nuts when we told him we wanted to keep & even reaffirm our personal Visa, Sears, Home Depot & all three auto loans. He ultimately talked us out of reaffirming the plastic, but you see our cards were not the problem, source or even a complication IN OUR CASE. We lost our business where we had stupidly guaranteed several business accts leaving us personally responsible for a hefty amt we could never pay without the biz.

I really wish folks would stop assuming "Everyone" has a problem with credit cards. Everyone here had some financial problem they personally must address so as not to return for the same reason!

We "want" a good credit score... What does it matter "why", we just do!

If you got in trouble with cc then make it a lesson learned, just as we have learned guaranteeing business contracts is not the way to go.

I agree, cc company's are crooks & reporting agencies are a big racket as well but if you need/want a good score you play the game. We are here talking about the game & the crappy rules required to play.

If you don't want to play the credit building game, so be it.. Leave the credit building section.

[backtoschool]

Very well said

Thanks Nanaof11.

I just checked my CapitalOne online statement, and they already raised the credit limit on the card I got at the end of November to $1,500. So, I have a total of $2,500 in credit on two cards with them as of today.

[NanaOf11]

I agree that LSUTiger32 meant no harm. But LSUTiger32 kept his house in his bankruptcy and has a car and has no need for credit. Not everyone on this board is in that situation.

I personally do not want to project my situation onto anyone here. I have no idea what anyone on this board makes a year, what they own, or what their other debt obligations are (ie student loans, second mortgages, etc....) What works for some on this board may not work for others. YMMV.

That being said, this is a rebuilding credit thread. The posters to this thread are refraining from posting in the main chapter 7 thread about their new cards, etc. The purpose of this thread is to help each other with strategies for rebuilding credit. Those that are not interested in rebuilding their credit need not participate in this thread.

I don't want to live in fear of credit post bk. I do not see this board as some sort of 12 step meeting for my past debt problems where I will be chastised for "falling off the wagon" if I get a new credit card. My personal goals are well defined by me, and I am working methodically to achieve them, and when I post information on this thread, it is to help others with similar goals.

Very well said

[backtoschool]

I agree that LSUTiger32 meant no harm. But LSUTiger32 kept his house in his bankruptcy and has a car and has no need for credit. Not everyone on this board is in that situation.

I personally do not want to project my situation onto anyone here. I have no idea what anyone on this board makes a year, what they own, or what their other debt obligations are (ie student loans, second mortgages, etc....) What works for some on this board may not work for others. YMMV.

That being said, this is a rebuilding credit thread. The posters to this thread are refraining from posting in the main chapter 7 thread about their new cards, etc. The purpose of this thread is to help each other with strategies for rebuilding credit. Those that are not interested in rebuilding their credit need not participate in this thread.

I don't want to live in fear of credit post bk. I do not see this board as some sort of 12 step meeting for my past debt problems where I will be chastised for "falling off the wagon" if I get a new credit card. My personal goals are well defined by me, and I am working methodically to achieve them, and when I post information on this thread, it is to help others with similar goals.

[cupcake]

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and I am not offended whatsoever by LSU's position on post-BK credit. I also don't think anything he has said thus far was meant to be snide or insulting. And, if you choose to take his words as such, that's your reaction and how you chose to respond. We can only responsible for ourselves and if you choose to get defensive and be offended by what he said, well, that's all on you.

Personally, I have obtained two new cc's since BK. I was discharged in July, 2009 and since then, I got a CapOne card with a $1,500 limit and a Hooters card with a $700 limit. I also have a Macy's Visa that survived my BK with a $1,000 limit and a couple others that survived with smaller limits. The balances on all of the cards are zero. I don't carry them with me and I have us used them only a few times over the last eight months.

I am acutely aware of the danger associated with these little plastic explosives. Quite honestly, it scares the hell out of me because I *know* how it works; I've been there. Not a single person here ever intended to get over their heads in cc debt and it didn't happen overnight. It happened slowly; we were short on cash and made one small purchase here and another small purchase days or weeks later. Small purchases add up so quickly and it doesn't take much before you decide to make just the minimum payment "this month." And, considering our current economy, we have no financial security. Most people don't have a guaranteed paycheck and it will not take much for our worlds to come crashing down on us.

With the credit I have available on cc's I have right now, I could potentially get myself back in $3,800 worth of debt IN ONE DAY. I'm also pretty sure that I could go get financing for a new car while I'm out on that shopping spree. So, I could really run out today and get myself into debt today to the tune of about $25k. And, sadly, people here have done it. They do it all the time. Look at me, I got a new credit card! Look at me, I financed a new vehicle! I understand that people need things and they need cars but seriously, jumping back into the debt cycle after the painful and life altering process of BK just ain't cool.

The process changed my life so much that I am a different person than I was two years ago. Two years ago, cupcake bought things on credit cards that she couldn't afford, had no business purchasing and knew she'd not be paying off that month. Bpttom line: she lived beyond her means. Today, cupcake's lifestyle is much different. She hasn't put a single thing on a cc that she knew she wouldn't pay off or couldn't afford. She has 18 months' salary stashed in her savings and last summer she purchased a $10k vehicle with cash. She has no monthly bills other than rent, standard utilities and car insurance. Cupcake doesn't wake up in the middle of the night anymore worried about paying her bills. She doesn't rob Peter to pay Paul every month and she doesn't live for her next paycheck. She went through hell and back two years ago because of a divorce and resulting BK but, in the end, she's a stronger, smarter and better person for all of it.

Just like everyone else here, LSU went through it too. He remembers what it was like and doesn't want to see anyone "innocently" get themselves back into cc debt. His opinions aren't meant to insult anyone, be snide or condescending. He just wants to make sure none of us get back to our old habits and lifestyles. He has good intentions, I am sure of it.

[mom2three09]

Do you all get this from a talking points paper or something? There must be a lot of democrats on this board with all the anti-free speech talk. Nothing I said is "snide."

I say again.....YOU DO NOT NEED A CREDIT SCORE TO BUY A HOUSE. I mean read the FHA guidelines for crying out loud.

It's funny how you are entitled to your opinion on credit but when I give mine I am snide. I get a there is no way you can possibly survive in life without credit from you but I can't express the opinion that you don't need it.

I know it's hard to imagine but yeah try buying a car you can afford instead of financing something at 12% that loses 20% of it's value a year.

I promise the snide, rude, moronic jerk will refrain from posting my opinion on this thread anymore and I sincerely apologize for offending anyone. Congrats to all on the credit cards.

Well I beg to differ --- you most certainly DO need a credit score to buy a home--- even when you go with FHA! If your score is not "good enough" then you will have to be manually underwritten... and when that happens you don't get the lowest possible interest rate because it then means that someone had to work harder to get you approved. Trust me, I know since our current home is with FHA and we didn't have the best credit score when we bought so instead of 5-6% interest rate the lowest we were able to get (in 2007) was 7.25%. And believe me, we never want another FHA loan because the extra PMI sucks. When we sell our current home whatever loan we go with next time we will be in a position to get the best financing terms. So yes, we need credit scores.

Oh and I never said you couldn't have an opinion... I merely stated that obviously you aren't interested in rebuilding your credit so why even read any of the threads on that topic? I'm assuming it's because you seem to have a "I'm better than you... smarter than you... etc etc" attitude. Let's face it we're all on this board for the same reason... BK! So no one is better than anyone else here