Hello Sophisticated Spenders!
I wanted to give you guys a brief look into my crazy experience with credit cards.
When I was younger, I messed up my credit score-BAD!
It was VERY low, somewhere in the low 500’s.
When I was 18, I got my first credit card. It was a Marshall Fields credit card with a $800 credit limit. I was super excited, didn’t have a job and went and bought lots of…clothes!
Then the bill was due.
I knew nothing about credit or why I cared if I paid that bill or not. And my mom and big brother tried to warn me. I remember she asked, “how are you getting a credit card and you don’t have a job?”
I figured the credit card companies knew something that I didn’t and THAT’S how the bill would get paid. You know, magic! Right?
I totally ignored all of the letters and phone calls that I received from them and then…
I went off to college!
I signed up for almost every credit card on campus because they were giving away free t-shirts. And I was also relieved when I’d get declined, because I only wanted the t-shirt anyway.
I had NO idea that getting turned down for those cards was bad for my credit history.
Fast forward to college graduation and all of a sudden, I care about my credit.
So I contact Marshall Fields to finally pay off that card.
I worked out a deal where I would pay what I spent and they forgave all of the interest and fees that accrued.
I also had an eviction on my credit report (stay tuned for that post). Luckily the statute of limitations had passed on that one so I contacted the credit bureaus to have that item removed from my credit report.
My next step:
I got a secured credit card to start the process of rebuilding my credit. I had to pay an annual fee of $69 AND send them $300 and the credit limit was only $300. So I paid for just about everything with that card and paid it off in full.
After a few years, I was finally able to get approved for a “real” credit card (American Express) and cancel that secured card.
Now, I’m borderline obsessed with my credit. I check all of my accounts every day! And I pay my credit card off in full every month!
Check out the 7 Best Ways to Clean Up Your Credit.
What’s your credit story??? Where are you in this timeline???
Are you in the process of building, messing up, or re-building your credit???
I can help no matter where you are in the process!
Send me an email (SophisticatedSpender@gmail.com) for a FREE 30 minute consultation call!
I can teach you what to say to debt collectors and what the statute of limitations are in your particilar situation and more!
