Discharged!

[mountanddo]

Finally my chapter 13 has been discharged as of 12/16/14.

How long does it take to be reflected on your credit report. I don't want to pull them until I know if it has been reported.

[spidge]

Congrats on your accomplishment, but I cannot answer your query about timeline.

[klandsb]

Mountanddo.. First congrats too you !!! What a great way to start the new year. Second . Try credit karma.com.. You can see your credit report /score for free and it doesn't count against your free yearly credit report.

[ValleYum]

So happy for you!! Congrats.

I think the Credit Karma advice is great! Check there first and go from there.

[mountanddo]

Thanks guys! One thing I want to tell everyone who is in the beginning of this is that I NEVER thought I would be able to live without credit cards. Now I can't see buying things unless I have cash and since I don't have credit cards I have a lot of CASH now. I have gotten into the habit of making three lists...things I have to have, things I need, and things that I want. When I get paid I buy the things on my first list and usually have enough money to buy a couple of things on my needs and wants list. The peace of mind that comes with paying in cash and knowing that you won't have a bill to pay is worth waiting for some of those things that I want but can't quite afford yet.

Another thing that I have done has to do with my need to buy a car. I just recently had to donate my car and am trying to save up for a new one. I take the bus to work and get my groceries delivered so a car isn't really necessary right now but I really do need one in the near future. I figured out how much my monthly payment would be with insurance and am putting that into a savings account each month. I'd much rather figure out whether or not I can afford a car before I purchase it rather than get stuck getting a loan and having to default on it. So far, so good and at the end of the year I will have a nice down payment or I may be able to buy something outright. I just pretend that the car is sitting in my driveway and I have no choice but to pay for it. I work my budget around what I have left over after paying for my "imaginary" car.

So for those of you that are just beginning and are thinking that you can't do it, trust that you will come out much happier once you are financially free from the chains that are credit cards.

One mistake that I did make was applying for a secured card about a month ago. I read that another member got a card and was able to start rebuilding credit before their chapter 13 was discharged. Unfortunately, I was not approved and my credit score went down from 641 to 629. Now I'm not really sure how long I should wait to apply again. I do know I will need one or two cards to start getting my credit score higher but each time you apply for credit it seems to have a negative effect on your credit report. Does anyone know if there is a way to see if you will be approved without actually applying?

[BNKRPTinNC]

Congrats on the discharge. 2014 seemed to be an excellent year for completed 13's, at least as far as this forum goes. My discharge came in 2/14 and my credit score jumped about 20 points (670 to 691). I did apply for and received 3 cc, about 6 months after discharge, so that I could start rebuilding credit. The reason for 3 was to get a total credit line of over $15K, which appears to be the magic number in order to improve score down the road. The inquiries and approval were apparently "soft" pulls as it had no impact on my overall score. Two of the cards are CapOne (all 3 have no annual fee) and they offer a free credit tracker option that allows you to see your score (TransUnion) as many times as you desire with no impact. However it is only updated once a month. I did look into a refinance on high interest mortgage and that was a "hard" pull and dropped score about 6 points.

[Sammie]

Congratulations! I know how hard you worked for your discharge. Ours came through in November and it is not on our credit report as yet. It is a wonderful feeling that we won't be getting Christmas bills in the mail. There is only one direction now and it is up. sammie

[dmc-2008]

Congrats!!!! Happy new year! One way to be sure is to find out what the lowest fico score they will approve before you apply.

[AngelinaCat]

CONGRATULATIONS!!!! I remember when you thought you were never going to make it, but you DID! Not only do you have a New Year, but you have New Financial Start. Here you go:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9aA_fba_To

If you would, please stay on board and help the newbies starting out.

[papie]

Congrats!!

Our Chapter 13 was reported as discharged within days. I only know because our car died less than one week after discharge. It was kind of expected and we were saving up a good down payment for a commuter car, but we were worried it wouldn't show up yet on our report, but it did. I think we checked it five days after discharge?

[Redsox]

Another good forum to rebuild your credit is the myfico.com forums. They have a list phone numbers you can call if you were rejected to get reconsidered and usually will get approved for a card.

[ValleYum]

Cap 1 has a card selector tool that only does a soft pull on your credit.





The above tool is located here: https://findmycard.capitalone.com/Pa...K_RWD_V01.aspx



Barclay's has been awesome to hubby and I post-BK. They even approved me for their new Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World Elite MasterCard®. Barclay's is picky about the number of inquiries so after you get your first card (C1), wait 6-9 months and apply for their card. Nice limits and nice credit line increases, too.

If you have a military "in" that can get you into Navy Federal Credit Union - I understand they are great to deal with if you did not impact them with your BK.

Good Luck and don't be a stranger!!!

[LadyInTheRed]

Congratulations, Mountanddo!