I never had car payments, student loans or anything. Just a credit card with $1k limit that was overdrawn for years due to financial abuse from my now ex, copious amounts for hospital bills, and lastly I used Affirm with said ex to buy a bed and couch after he let his animals destroy all of my things. I got away from him last year after four years of financial/mental/physical abuse and I used my entire tax return to pay off the credit card so I can reopen my checking account which was closed due to the missed payments.
It was closed a second time this year due to me not paying attention. I wasn’t wanted or sent a statement, instead I was sent another letter saying my account was overdrafted by literally $5. I went to my bank to speak with a member to see what happened, and he saw Apple had charged me for storage on that newly opened checking account as the most recent transaction. I’ve been using Chime (online bank) because they have the “credit builder” debit card. I left my credit union checking account at its minimum required $5 but I had $300 in savings. I was still slowly paying off my medical bills and any extra money I’d throw into my credit union savings account. You would think that they’d overdraft from my savings for that situation but I guess not.
With Affirm, before I left my ex we settled on paying around $500 instead of the $768 I still owed which I got a form on my taxes so I know that brought it down.
I’ve been in and out of the hospital and surgery most of this year but I managed to just pay my last $800 bill (hooray) and I have almost $2k stashed which took a lot of work for me.
Can anyone recommend me to a credit card company that would work with me given this history? Capital One, Discover, anything?
I’m 26, make between $35-$40k a year
Credit score 585
Card limit doesn’t matter, just anything to help me build.
Any card will do. I didn’t have parents to guide me through anything finance-wise. Dad’s deceased, and my mom was doing hard drugs. I grew up in and out of homeless shelters, and I didn’t have anyone to guide me with this at all. Hell, I had to teach myself how to drive at 20. I’m a complete dumba** to put it bluntly with finances.
That’s why I’m desperate to give myself a swift kick in the ass to fix it. I want to own a home so my dog can finally have a yard of his own and a garden for myself before I’m 30. Any help is greatly appreciated, no matter how blunt it is. I need to hear it anyway.
I just need something to show I’m more responsible with my money now and I can finally show consistency.
@Tali
We come from similar backgrounds. You can recover, but it’s not easy, and you will need to learn skills. You need to monitor your account balances so you don’t make your credit worse. You may want to keep a spreadsheet or use a budget program to track expenses and know when payments will post or come due.
Get a secured credit card, buy something small on it, and put the card away. Once you get the statement, pay off the total balance. Use the card every few months, wait for the statement, and pay off the balance.
@Tali
Glad you’re here then. There’s a wealth of information both here and on Google that will help you even if you never learned those things growing up. Live for the future, don’t worry about your past.
Start with a secured card from your bank, then a starter credit card from your bank, and in 2-3 years, if you stick to it, you’ll end up just fine.
@Tali
Highly recommend looking up the r/personalfinance flowchart. Really simple and easy way to get the basic steps of financial responsibility right.
Adley said: @Vine
I second Chime. I returned to the US with no credit history whatsoever and this is the one only one I needed. 726 FICO after 6 months.
@Tali
700~750 after 6 months is very normal if that 6 months is the only 6 months of history you have, which is unfortunately not the case for you. Negative history stays on your record for 7 years, and while you can recover a good bit in the meanwhile, I wouldn’t expect too much too quickly.
Kip said:
Try for a secured card from Capital One or Discover. If that doesn’t work, get the Chime credit builder card.
I have the credit builder card! It’s pretty much just a debit card though. Do you think it would be best to just keep using it and get a secured card on top of that?
Kip said: @Tali
Yes, try for a secured card as well. But keep using the Chime card as it reports to the bureaus as far as I understand.
I can definitely do that, my checks automatically transfer from my debit card onto that card anyways luckily. Please don’t judge me when I ask this because I really don’t know anything about finances, but what is the difference between a secured card and a regular debit card? Also, thank you for the help.
@Tali
The secured credit card I’m talking about is a credit card, not a debit card. Basically, you put a deposit, say $500, and you get a credit card with a $500 limit. You spend and pay it off every month, and it reports to the credit bureaus as a credit card. It builds your credit score over time. After 6 months to a year of on-time payments, Capital One or Discover will “graduate” you to an unsecured card (regular credit card) and you go from there. The most important thing to remember is to never carry a balance. Always pay your statement balance in full, every month, by the due date.
glad I got Chime
It’s pretty much just a debit card though. Do you think it would be best to just keep using it and get a secured card on top of that?