A rant and your 2014 goals?

[Drazil65]

If you have enough cash built up in your emergency fund you will be fine. The problem/myth is that you will always pay the cc off with the next paycheck or by end of month. If you filed chp 7 and still live paycheck to paycheck with no room to save anything then something is still wrong. Sounds like you need more income? Maybe a second job to build up that emergency fund? If you have that big emergency that you put on a card and cannot pay it off it is very easy to justify why you could just make payments and keep up, eventually you will be right back in bankruptcy court.

Its a mind set that you "need" a CC, amazing when you live on cash with money in the bank how an "emergency" is different then an "emergency" that would have gone on a CC. If you do not have the self discipline to have a savings account with money for emergencies then the chances are you will not have the discipline to continue to pay off the cc every month. Something to think about.

[grizindabox]

The point is that you should not put anything on a credit card that you could not pay cash for in the first place. A credit card is a great tool but it is not and should not be a lifeline.

[PhillyGuy]

Update on 2014 Goals:

1. Have my bk7 asset case finally closed before my years anniversary of my discharge (March). Not making March but I can see the light!

2. Apply for one (1) unsecured cc and get approved for over $1000. Applied for Capital One - Quicksilver Card - Approved for $3,000! Done!

3. Have all three FICO scores over 700 (One there, 2 to go) by December 31, 2014.

4. Have $12,000 in my emergency account. Done!!

5. Payoff my car loan, making December of 2014 my last payment. Already knocked off 4 months on my loan, 8 more to make this Dec my last payment.



2 complete out of 5 by mid-April!

[Drazil65]

Great Job and wonderful start to your new life! How does it feel to have that emergency fund? Great right? Greatest feeling in the world when you have the cash to back you up!!! You learn well grasshopper...

[PhillyGuy]

Update on 2014 Goals:

1. Have my bk7 asset case finally closed before my years anniversary of my discharge (March). Not making March but I can see the light!

2. Apply for one (1) unsecured cc and get approved for over $1000. Applied for Capital One - Quicksilver One Card - Approved for $3,000! Done!

UPDATE 5-21-14: I have had my new and first card since filing for 35 days now and was upgraded yesterday from a Quicksilver One Mastercard to their Quicksilver Rewards Visa card with no annual fee. My goal was a Venture card, which I was eligible for as well but declined the offer since the Quicksilver Rewards has a better % on rewards.

3. Have all three FICO scores over 700 by December 31, 2014. One at 700, two to go.

4. Have $12,000 in my emergency account. Done!!

5. Payoff my car loan, making December of 2014 my last payment. Already knocked off 5 months on my loan, 7 more to make this Dec my last payment.


2 complete out of 5 by mid-May!

[PhillyGuy]

Update (5-28-14) on 2014 Goals:

1. Have my bk7 asset case finally closed before my years anniversary of my discharge (March). CLOSED!!!!!!! Done.

2. Apply for one (1) unsecured cc and get approved for over $1000. Applied for Capital One - Quicksilver One Card - Approved for $3,000! Done!

UPDATE 5-21-14: I have had my new and first card since filing for 35 days now and was upgraded yesterday from a Quicksilver One Mastercard to their Quicksilver Rewards Visa card with no annual fee. My goal was a Venture card, which I was eligible for as well but declined the offer since the Quicksilver Rewards has a better % on rewards.

3. Have all three FICO scores over 700 by December 31, 2014. One at 700, two to go.

4. Have $12,000 in my emergency account. Done!!

5. Payoff my car loan, making December of 2014 my last payment. Already knocked off 5 months on my loan, 7 more to make this Dec my last payment.


3 complete out of 5 by the end May!

[PhillyGuy]

Update (6-18-14) on 2014 Goals:

1. Have my bk7 asset case finally closed before my years anniversary of my discharge (March). CLOSED!!!!!!! Done.

2. Apply for one (1) unsecured cc and get approved for over $1000. Applied for Capital One - Quicksilver One Card - Approved for $3,000! Done!

UPDATE 5-21-14: I have had my new and first card since filing for 35 days now and was upgraded yesterday from a Quicksilver One Mastercard to their Quicksilver Rewards Visa card with no annual fee. My goal was a Venture card, which I was eligible for as well but declined the offer since the Quicksilver Rewards has a better % on rewards.

3. Have all three FICO scores over 700 by December 31, 2014. One at 700, two to go.

4. Have $12,000 in my emergency account. Done!!

5. Payoff my car loan, last payment due Feb 2016, making December of 2014 my last payment. Made a payment on Friday, this November will be my last car payment! Done!!


4 complete out of 5 by the mid-June, rolling!!

[PhillyGuy]

Update (7-3-14) on 2014 Goals:

1. Have my bk7 asset case finally closed before my years anniversary of my discharge (March). CLOSED!!!!!!! Done.

2. Apply for one (1) unsecured cc and get approved for over $1000. Applied for Capital One - Quicksilver One Card - Approved for $3,000! Done!

UPDATE 5-21-14: I have had my new and first card since filing for 35 days now and was upgraded yesterday from a Quicksilver One Mastercard to their Quicksilver Rewards Visa card with no annual fee. My goal was a Venture card, which I was eligible for as well but declined the offer since the Quicksilver Rewards has a better % on rewards.

3. Have all three FICO scores over 700 by December 31, 2014. Two Over or at 700, one to go. Eq. has jumped 29 points in the last 3 months and Ex. has jumped 60 points in the last 4 months.

4. Have $12,000 in my emergency account. Done!!

5. Payoff my car loan, last payment due Feb 2016, making December of 2014 my last payment. Made a payment on Friday, this November will be my last car payment! Done!!


4 1/2 complete out of 5 by July, rolling!!

[PhillyGuy]

Has anyone else reached any goals this year???????

[Mayo]

We bought a new home this June 2 years post 13 discharge. Just approved for two chase CC with $25k limit between the 2. I am enjoying using credit to save me money instead of owing them money this time.

[spidge]

I am not sure how effective having many cc vs a couple would be on my score, but my choice is to only have a couple to ease managing them. I need to look into what "all" goes into building a better score for an informed decision though. Also, what about how monthly income vs mortgage and bills effect the score? How do assets effect it if at all?

Why will a good score be important to me? Well, even though I thought we would retire in this house I think just in case a good score would help us later. Also if I decide to take a less demanding and likely lower paid job I would be able to refinance the current home into an appealing loan situation. There are other reasons too but that was fresh in my mind.

My 2014 goals not prioritized;
1. Get a handle on taxes owed outside my BK13.
2. Pay off my BK13 by the end of the year.

It will be close on both fronts, but if I can get heeled up and back to my job I may be able to do these things.

Time will tell.

No luck here. Still on workers comp so no OT to pursue. If anything we are back tracking. No pay for the wife in the summer which makes it a bit tougher. Still have 2k in fed taxes and almost 60 days late on mortgage.

Contemplating solutions, but hands are tied to an extent. The ball is in the mortgage holders hands. I will only be 30 days behind after August, but I would still be late technically.

[PhillyGuy]

Update (10-28-14) on 2014 Goals:

1. Have my bk7 asset case finally closed before my years anniversary of my discharge (March). CLOSED!!!!!!! Done.

2. Apply for one (1) unsecured cc and get approved for over $1000. Applied for Capital One - Quicksilver One Card - Approved for $3,000! Done!

UPDATE 10-28-14: Just approved for a Barclay's rewards card, no annual fee, $1500. I now have two cards, need no more.

3. Have all three FICO scores over 700 by December 31, 2014. One over, but just got another hard pull for my Barclays card, this may move the scores down a few points.

4. Have $12,000 in my emergency account. Done!!

5. Payoff my car loan, last payment due Feb 2016, making December of 2014 my last payment. Last car payment is next month, Done!!

4 complete out of 5 so far.

[spidge]

Great job. I hope to be there in a couple years.

[avengers]

I strongly disagree with that. When you rent for 20 or 30 years, you have nothing to show for it at the end of that time period. My house is underwater, but not nearly as far as it was 4 years ago. It may not in my lifetime be worth what I paid for it, but I get closer to having equity with every payment and I can't rent anything equivalent for less than the cost of ownership. After the end of my 30 year mortgage, which will be about retirement age, I will have a fully paid off house. If I rented it, I would only have more rent payments to look forward to. Nobody can evict me from my house unless I stop paying the mortgage. While renting may be a preferable option for many, paying on a mortgage is not the same as paying rent to the bank.

Renting vs owning is dependent on many different variables and what works for one person may not work for another.

E.g., in some areas renting is much cheaper than owning. In others, owning is cheaper.

Moreover, buying ties you down in a way renting doesn't. You mention that you have nothing to show for renting for 30 years. Completely true. But you also mentioned that you're underwater. Back in 2006, the wife and I were strongly considering buying. We ended up deciding to keep on renting a house instead. Good thing we did. When I lost my job in 2009, I would have been completely underwater and been tied to my house. But because I was renting, I just moved to another state where I had another job offer.

[LadyInTheRed]

Renting vs owning is dependent on many different variables and what works for one person may not work for another.

E.g., in some areas renting is much cheaper than owning. In others, owning is cheaper.

Moreover, buying ties you down in a way renting doesn't. You mention that you have nothing to show for renting for 30 years. Completely true. But you also mentioned that you're underwater. Back in 2006, the wife and I were strongly considering buying. We ended up deciding to keep on renting a house instead. Good thing we did. When I lost my job in 2009, I would have been completely underwater and been tied to my house. But because I was renting, I just moved to another state where I had another job offer.

I don't disagree with anything you say. Like I said "renting may be a preferable option for many." There are many factors to consider, including job stability and local options in the event of job loss. But, that doesn't make what I was responding to true:

Unless you are paying cash and will own the house outright, then you are basically just paying rent to the bank for 20 or 30 years until its paid for.

Even if you are underwater at points during the 20-30 year mortgage, if you continue to pay on your mortgage, you will eventually not be underwater. That is not "basically just paying rent". That is paying down principal on something that you will eventually own outright.