Bad Credit-Good Credit and some good tips!

I spent a day off last Thursday thinking about this subject all day. I began this by checking my credit reports on www.annualcreditreport.com. Then today I picked up a copy of the June 2007 Capitol City Courier www.capitalcitycourier.org and read the article by Kim E. Gordon entitled "Why Do So Many Blacks Have Bad Credit?". I will not go in to all the historical stuff and racism and classicism things. This is just a brief tale of one once mired hopelessly in bad credit and how I got out.

For many years I toiled at very low paying jobs with no medical insurance, accumulating various types of bad debt including hospital bills, student loans, credit card debt, and other debt to utilities, stores, etc. During those times (age 20s through early 30s) I was in despair over the subject and mainly tried to ignore and avoid it. Much of my problem was ignorance about the whole credit thing.

Eventually I made it a goal to better my credit. Paying bills on time, not buying unnecessary items, educating myself, and taking concrete actions to improve my credit. I paid off medical bills by going in every payday and paying at the hospital. Phoned all my debtors and worked out payment plans. I secured a better paying job with benefits. I dragged my student loans out of default and got into a program that assisted me to that goal. I started checking my credit reports on a regular basis.

I purchased a new car in 2001 and had a hard time finding credit, I ended up taking the credit from the car company with a slightly elevated interest rate. My credit score at the time was 600 which was much better than it had been, though not very good. I remember being shocked they actually gave it to me! I made all my payments on time and paid off the car in May 2006. Also, I finally paid off my student loans 2 months ago at age 42. Yes it was a long hard road to get to this point but I am actually proud of myself and in disbelief that I actually did it! When I checked my credit report last Thursday it had no negatives on it and my credit score was 800, I nearly fell off my computer chair! Damn, success! It did require a decade of hard frustrating time, but it was sooooooo worth it!

Following are some handy tips:

Tip 1-Check your credit report on www.annualcreditreport.com, it is free. There are 3 credit reporting agencies, and you get a separate report for each one. If you want your credit score, you must pay a small price, 4-7 dollars. You can check them free once a year, I recommend checking one of the three every 4 months, then you have the ability to have year round information.


Tip 2-Savings account-I did not have a savings account for many years. A few years ago I shopped around Springfield banks, and was looking for the best interest bearing account with a low monetary requirement for opening. The local banks all had very low interest rates, in the order of 1-2% annual return, to get higher rates you had to deposit $10,000 Dollars (yeah right, as if someone just happens to have a spare 10 grand). Luckily, I found one better, the "Capitol One High Yield Money Market Account". www.capitalonedirect.com. I only needed $100.00 to open it, and get an annual rate of 4.75%. I checked online Thursday and it is still rated in the top 10 of money markets for interest rate, and one of only two with a low initial deposit. In fact, now you do not need to keep 100 dollars in it, and the interest rate is the same no matter whether you have $100 or $100,000,000 dollars. I use it as my savings account and can make 6 withdrawals a month, but try not too as it is a savings account.

Tip 3-I found some current information about credit scores etc. at CNNMoney.com and www.howstuffworks.com/credit-score.htm
Darla