Credit Repair Part 1

When I returned to the D.C. area my credit wasn't, well still isn't, that great. In my first college stint I had racked up a bunch of credit card debt. I was one of those people who, after realizing the hole I had put myself in, paid off all the cards and then proceeded to cancel them. Well that was a stupid mistake. Not only did I add all the negative credit remarks to my report, but I then eliminated all of my available credit. Now, after getting life back on track, finding a full time job, and stabilizing my spending I am trying to fix my credit. The first thing I learned is that none of the major credit card companies wanted me back.

That left me with two options: get one of those 'for bad credit' cards offered by companies like Orchard Bank that charge you $150 just to open the account; or get a secured card. I opted for the secured card. After looking at a few banks I settled on Bank of America. Not only do they have secured credit cards thru MBNA, right now they are offering up to $50 for opening up a checking account. If you are interested in learning how to get that $50 drop me a comment and I'll send you the referral link.

One of the first things I learned was that getting the secured card isn't as easy as it sounds. First you need to have an account at BofA, then you need to send them the $300(that's the minimum), and then it can take up to a month for them to actually get the card to you. So if you are planning on using that card right away, forget about it.

Once you have the card, plan how you are going to use it. I get my statement on the 20th, and my payment is due on the 10th. I spend around $200-300 a month on groceries. So I make my payment on the 1st of the month(payday), and then do my grocery shopping throughout the month. At the end of the month I pay off the entire balance. This showed up on my credit report the month after I received the card. It shows that I am currently making full payments each month.

Stay tuned to learn other methods of getting good items onto your credit report.