2 Years to 700 Fico Score

[Alex Rector]

I currently have a 528 Fico Score. In Jul-Aug it was a 630. I paid one of my CCs late (timezone difference / Nov 09) and it obtained a late fee that I was unaware of. I found out literally yesterday when I ordered my credit report. I immediately called them and paid $100 to catch the fee and for this month's bill. Bear in mind this late fee was from November, I paid my December's bill and I didn't know the fee was still present. Below is a break down of my credit score history.

JAN - 528
Dec - 523
Nov 28 - 523
Nov 14 - 603
OCT - 603
SEP - 603
AUG - 603
JUL - 630

Alright since you know where I stand lets pull the statistics out, and make a fair judgment if my goal is feasible.

MY DEBT PROFILE

Real Estate/Other: $0
Installment Debt: $6,664
Revolving Debt: $11,490

+ Credit Available - $1,383
+ % of Credit Available - 9%
Total Credit Limit: $12,575

Total Debt: $18,154
Total Monthly Payment: $802

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NEGATIVE STATUS

Are you currently delinquent on any accounts?
Current Negative Status: You have at least one account listed as 30 Days Late.

Is there negative information on your report?
Accounts Listed Negative: You have 5 Account(s) Listed Negative (at some point you were late or failed to pay as agreed)

Accounts in Collections:
You don't have any accounts in collections.

Most Negative Status:
The worst payment status ever listed on your Credit Report was Failed to Pay.

Public Record:
You have No Public Record(s) listed on your Report.

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YOUR EXPERIAN CREDIT SUMMARY

Oldest Account Age: 5.5 Years
Average Account Age: 3.4 Years

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HARD INQUIRIES

You have 10 HARD INQUIRIES on your Credit Report (last was )

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ACCOUNT TYPES

Real Estate Loans: 0
Installment Loans: 1
Credit Cards: 3
Retail Cards: 1

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So next month I receive the taxes and it'll be approximately $9k. I immediately plan to pay off my car so that I can free up $500 a month (savings, etc) that'll drop it to $3k approximately. I'll use approximately $2k to pay down some of my revolving debt. I'm taking a wild guess here but should I put the full $2k on to the largest or highest debt ratio credit card? 3/4 on it and 1/4 onto another credit card? This is the area that becomes blurry to me.

Also will someone put me in touch with a person that can help me get my credit in order? within 6-12 months I plan to have no debt (hopefully). When I leave Germany in 2 years I want a 700+ credit score so that I can apply for house if needed other than using my VA loan or an Auto loan.

Thanks for the help guys and sorry for such a long post!

[Kevin C.]

Originally posted by Marcus Mccray:

Alex,

Oh yes ALWAYS keep a balance on your cards just never over 30% of the card limit.

I have to disagree here, there is no reason to keep a balance on a credit card, that's just throwing money away (paying interest).

My credit score is in the 800's and I've not carried a balance on a credit card in years. I use credit cards, every chance I can (for rewards points, cash back etc), but pay the balance in full each month.

Get the cards paid off, then if you choose to, continue to use them, but pay them in full each month. At the very least charge something on the cards you have periodically to keep them active, but again, pay off the balance in full each month.