Just how bad will your credit get?

[flyinbroke]

BK 7 stays for 10. BK 13 should stay for 7. Chargeoffs and delinquencies should stay 7; they can be disputed beyond that. Anything government related can be there for all eternity; you can't screw Uncle Sam out of his money.

[secondtimer]

After my first BK in 2004 I immediately began borrowing to rebuild my credit.

All that really happened was I used that as an excuse to live on credit again.

Six years later I'm preparing for another BK and have accepted the fact that credit and my credit score is a game I'm not willing to participate in.

I've always been told "credit is ok but you have to pay it off every month". That's basically the extent of the education I got about credit.
Well, why bother using credit in the first place if I'm gonna "pay it off" every month.

For about 11 months now I've used cash for everything. I now know where my money is going. Every purchase is "real" now. Buying stuff with credit never seemed "real" because it wasn't my money when I swiped a card or signed a note.
Handing over cash at the register really makes me think about what I need versus want I want.

[jacko]

Amen. I have been living on cash for over 18 months now. Recently upgraded my dated home build PC with new motherboard, processor and memory with the cash I saved up for. Since I was not using credit this time, I scrutinized the purchase when I was saving up the cash. Before, I used credit which in hindsight spend more than I should of. Oh well, Citi is now covering the last purchase.

After my first BK in 2004 I immediately began borrowing to rebuild my credit.

All that really happened was I used that as an excuse to live on credit again.

Six years later I'm preparing for another BK and have accepted the fact that credit and my credit score is a game I'm not willing to participate in.

I've always been told "credit is ok but you have to pay it off every month". That's basically the extent of the education I got about credit.
Well, why bother using credit in the first place if I'm gonna "pay it off" every month.

For about 11 months now I've used cash for everything. I now know where my money is going. Every purchase is "real" now. Buying stuff with credit never seemed "real" because it wasn't my money when I swiped a card or signed a note.
Handing over cash at the register really makes me think about what I need versus want I want.