Personal blog on early retirement, selling tradelines, and analytics projects. I write about what I learn as I am learning it.
People come to me with a specific goal more often than a vague one. Not “I want better credit” — more like “I need a 680 by March to apply for this card.” The credit card question comes up constantly, and the answer is more nuanced than a single number. It depends entirely on which card you’re applying for.
Continue reading “What Credit Score Do You Need to Get a Credit Card?”
Buyers come to me after Chapter 13 discharge more than you might expect. They’ve just finished a multi-year repayment plan, their credit took a real beating, and they want to know two things: where does my score stand right now, and will a tradeline help? The honest answer to both questions is more nuanced than what most posts on this topic give you.
Continue reading “Average Credit Score After Chapter 13 Discharge”
I put a $2,200 HVAC repair on a credit card once. Didn’t think much of it — I’d pay it off in a couple months. But in the meantime, that card went from about 15% utilization to over 70%. My credit score dropped around 30 points. I wasn’t planning to apply for anything, so I didn’t notice for weeks. That was the last time I “just charged it” for an expense I knew was coming.
Continue reading “Sinking Fund Categories That Actually Make Financial Sense”
The honest answer to “how long does credit repair take” is: it depends on what broke it. A few late payments from two years ago is a different project than a bankruptcy or a wave of collections. People underestimate the first scenario and overestimate how bad the second one is. Both can be worked through — they just run on different clocks.
I’ve talked to a lot of people trying to fix their credit — mostly buyers who are trying to get ready for a mortgage or a car loan. The expectations are usually off in one direction or the other. So here’s a realistic breakdown by issue type.
A lot of the people who buy tradelines from me got there because they were denied for something — a credit card, an apartment, a car loan. The denial is what finally made the credit score real to them. Before that, it was just a number. After, it’s the reason they’re stuck.
If you just got denied for a credit card and want to understand why, there’s usually a fixable reason. The denial letter will tell you — issuers are required to give you a reason. But the letter uses jargon, so let me translate.
