Not mommy related really, but I’m a young, single mom working on my credit& need some advice from experienced moms with credit! I feel It’s almost like I have to pay my credit cards off late and run up the bill instead of paying before the due date & spending under the 30% to get my credit score to go up…it keeps going down with the more I spend on them and then paying it off on time. Any insight would help, I didn’t have anyone to really teach me about credit, and it was going up for a long time. 750-780ish, and lately it seems the more I spend (under the 30%) and then pay on time or before due, the lower it goes. Looking for any advice! Thank you in advance 
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We are paying a company to help fix ours. It went up 70 points in just a month.
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Consolidate your cards so you only have one payment each month
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Check your credit report for errors
The absolute best way if possible would be to apply for a small loan and use it to consolidate your credit cards into one payment. Then and this is the important part cut your cards up and stop using them. They are more of a trap than they are an assist to build credit and are far more likely to be used against you as “revolving” credit to deny you better interest rates or loans elsewhere. Paying them off entirely, canceling them, and staying current on your personal loan will boost your credit super high, fairly quickly. (I did this to buy my home and my credit went from mid 500’s to low 700’s as soon as that revolving debt was paid off and taken off my credit.)
Credit karma is great they have helped me there is no fee just follow their recommendations and you will see a change. Hope this helps.
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You can give yourself a credit card with the $$ YOU already have and just pay yourself back which is great and builds your credit immediately. Also you gain interest and earn $$ back that takes a while but my bf earned about $7 in the past yr and a half
What I did: I set up an automatic payment every two weeks (whatever you feel you can afford) on one card (my spending card). My bill card, I pay all bills ie phone, internet, cable, electric, gas… and that got paid in full every month (didn’t carry a balance) you can make payments how you want, just pay it off. Also, I obtained a min of 3 cards. Another thing is if you have a mortgage, look at setting up every 2weeks payment plan. This will reduce your interest and pay off sooner. Continue to watch your income to debt ratio. Wishing you the best.
You don’t have to pay anyone to fix your credit. It’s really simple. Pay on time and pay your cards off. You want your debt ratio to be low and your credit score will go up. Inbox me if you need more help.
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If you want it to go up, reduce your spending to 10% of your credit limit or less. Also, open Credit Karma! You’ll be able to see what influences your credit the most. In my case, I had to take a hit (open a new credit card) so that the amount of open accounts would go up and allow my credit score to go even higher than before. So, #1 lower your credit usage to 10% or less and open Credit Karma so that you can see what is affecting your credit score and what can you do to make it increase 
Even if you pay off your balance every month the credit card company reports your balance on a certain day of the month. Find out what day that is and pay the balance down before then. They’ll report you have a lower balance and your debt ratio will be better. I just tried it for the first time and it went up 16 points.
Also making 2 payments instead of one on a credit card helps alot also. I did that before the 28th of the month and my credit score went up 10 points in one month. That was advice by Credit Karma
Get the experian app… it lets you add your bills which boosts your credit… i went from a 485 last year to a 618 …
My husband purchased a couple of secured cards, it worked very well in helping build credit. It’s basically a preloaded visa card through a credit card company, when you’re done with it you just pay off the card and then get the money that you preloaded back
Get a credit card and keep paying it off on time, or get a pre-paid credit card
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Are you maybe paying it too early? It has to actually hit your bill and then be paid before due to help build credit. I see many people using a credit card and then paying it right away, which does not help at all.
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I’ve been told several times by several finance people to never pay them off completely. I have 2. One of them I actually use and just make monthly payments on. The other one is just an open line of credit I’ve never used. Make more then the minimum but don’t pay it off. Look into a financial advisor to help you build it up.
But be sure to not use the other cards again or you will find yourself in a worse situation
If you’re paying the credit cards off late, that’s what’s causing your score to go down. The more you spend on the credit card the less it will help you. If you have a $5,000 limit and owe $4,000 that will drop your score because you have less available credit. Credit takes time and it won’t happen overnight. Just be patient. Don’t max out your cards and always pay them on time. If you leave a balance on them make sure it’s under 30%.
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Make sure you don’t have some delinquent account out there somewhere. You could probably start with Credit Karma.
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I always pay our credit card(s) in full each month and our credit score is in the 800’s … and have also paid off our mortgage and vehicle loans early. I never charge what can’t be paid off … wants versus needs. I read to never max your cards out because it lowers your credit score … never pay them late … and that it’s your available credit that’s important. Say only charging $100 on a $1000 limit card versus charging $900 on it.
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A good place to start is to get a copy of your credit report from all three bureaus. There might be a collection that you’re not aware of. Also look at your debt to income ratio. On time payments are very important but credit scores are based on many things… debt/income, on time payments, length of credit history, etc. There’s an awesome lady that teaches credit stuff on YouTube. It’s called “color my credit”. She breaks it down very simply and doesn’t talk over your head. Also keep in mind that credit karma and credit wise aren’t entirely accurate. Hope that helps!
Pay everything on time, that’s all.
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Carry some of the debt month to month… we make big purchases on 2 cards and pay them down over time more than min. We have 2 we use regularly and only spend what we can pay off however we quickly acquire that debt again…but pay it off bi weekly …
What my brother did was got a credit card and literally spent like $10-20 a month on it and paid it off as soon as it was due and his credit went up a lot. I personally don’t have any experience with credit cards but that worked for my brother I raising his credit score.
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Use credit karma it will let you know how many lines of active credit you have. Don’t close accounts let them close them on their own. Closing accounts can effect credit score. Pay them on time before the date and keep spending amount under 30% total for all cards combined. Paying cards on time will also make credit card companies offer you credit increases. I went from the lowest credit score to 700s within 2 years and multiple credit lines. You can also get a personal loan to pay off all the cards and just make payments on that loan which still helps your credit go up.
Pay bills on time. Don’t miss payments, Live below your means. Pay bills on time. If you are going to be late, call the creditor and work something out - send what you can if you can’t pay off the full amount. NEVER use credit cards as a loan. DO NOT carry debt on credit cards.
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Use credit wise , it’ll give you tips on how you’re using your credit, how you can improve it.
You have to remember that just because the money is there to spend don’t spend it. Available credit helps build it. Never have late payments
Read anything by Dave Ramsey! He also has a podcast if that’s more your thing.
Did you take into account any mortgage, car loan or student loans you may have? Don’t forget it’s not just based on credit cards
Experian is much better than credit karma as the updates are more consistent.
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Pre-paid credit card worked for me. I put 200$ on it and paid off my own balance. When I cancelled the card I received my money back. I’m not sure who’s still doing this but it helped a lot.
Only use credit card for emergencies
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Watch YouTube videos by colormycredit she’s great to watch and gives a very easy and informative breakdown on credit.
If someone with good credit adds you to there credit it’s the. Best thing you can do even if they don’t give you the credit card after you have good credit get one credit card for you after they can remove you if they want
As a former loan officer this is why it’s going down. Your available credit is decreasing. You want to stay at 33% usage optimally. A good way to increase that if you cannot pay it down is to open up another line of credit somewhere with no utilization. It will show you have more available credit. As far as paying late, that’s a sure way to get a quick score decrease. Don’t do it. Credit is a tricky thing. Keeping your utilization at 30% will give your score a boost more than having no balance. Once it’s paid off use the card for small purchases like gas and emergencies. Also to check your score, create an Experian acct. It’s free. Credit cards doesn’t give an accurate score and 90% of lenders pull your credit from Experian.
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Check out annualcreditreport.com you can access your credit score from Experian, Transunion, and Equifax for free annually so you can see if there’s any delinquent accounts.
My partner has been working on his credit and the guy he consulted with told him to do that exact thing to get his credit better. It’s weird but it’s recommended to go over a little bit and then pay it off later?
Each time you apply for something you get a hard inquiry on your credit report which effects your credit score and it takes up to 7 years for the hard inquiry to get taken off your report. Any past due bills also affect it.
Check your credit report…make sure someone hasn’t stolen your id
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Always pay on time, any late payment will effect your credit. The biggest impact is debt to income ratio, so don’t have too many cards or loans. Another factor is age of account, you are better off keeping an old account that shows consistent payment than constantly closing and opening accounts for better rates.
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Cars have been our go to. And high limit credit cards. The little ones never did a thing.
Simple if you dont have the money for it dont buy it! That way ur credit score will look after itself!!
I used Credit Karma and I also disputed EVERYTHING that went to collections and 3/5 were dropped which boosted my score. I also have a car payment that is automatically taken out and student loans were a huge debt that is being paid off, they impact credit as well. I don’t use my credit cards but when I was, it was to fill up gas but ideally I believe it is under 30% of your available credit will help boost when paid off before each cycle.
Look at your debt to available credit ratio. I try to keep mine below 10%. If i charge something big like furniture i usually pay it in full. Honestly i only use my cards to keep my credit revolving. Your vehicle and home, if you have financed them, are included in that as well. My ex husband paid his vehicle off and it alerted me that my account was paid on full. My score went straight up. But it send likeposting credit cards in full hurt you. Carry a small balance like $24-40 each month for the next year. Pay it and then charge again. That’s what i did with my first card.
Pull your credit reports. You’re able to do it once a year from EACH credit bureau for free. Credit karma is also nice to have to keep track of some stuff. Don’t pay it COMPLETELY off before the due date. Allowing 10-20% of the debt to show up month to month shows that you ARE using your cards. Check for WHEN the credit companies are reporting too to make sure it’s aligning up right. I’ve seen some people have the issue where CC companies were reporting BEFORE the due date and making it look delinquet. But pulling your credit reports will allow you to see if there is anything fraudulent or that you may have forgotten about. Also, check into local banks or credit unions, start with one that you use and go from there. Ask them about credit building programs. Those can really help as well.
Credit is rent on money.
Pay that debt off asap.
ALWAYS pay a minimum of 10% more than the minimum payment.
Use cash mostly.
Cut up all but one of your credit cards.
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Your credit goes up faster if you only use 10 percent of your limit on your card. Then pay it off when the bill is due. If you max it out all the time it does raise the score but alot slower.
Check with a credit union in your area. Put money in to a money market accountant to save instead of a reg savings account. It makes more interest. And the credit union has awesome rates on car loans and home loans.
You need Dave Ramsey in your life!
I started working towards a debt free life and have knocked out $35,000 in 2 years on a very modest income.
Its doable and you can buy a house with NO credit.
Follow the steps. Pay cash for everything. Absolutely no debt for anything but a mortgage.
The more debt= the better credit.
That’s what I noticed.
Check credit karma. You can see if you have anything out there that is showing delinquent. It also gives tips. Sometimes it is how long you have credit, and if you open new credit to often.
Something I’ve seem help is two payments over one billing cycle
Ask someone who has good credit and you can trust, to allow you to be an authorized user on their card (have the card sent to their address and you never have access) but if they use it and make good payments and such you’ll see a credit increase. Also recommend a secured card don’t use it often just enough to show usage and make your payments! That way you build a credit history as well in two manners.
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Capital One is great for building credit. Get one where you have to put some money down and you’ll see them raise your credit and limits pretty quickly. Additionally, look into store cards (Maurices, Old Navy, etc) — places where you normally spend money. Often times your get a percentage off of things you’d be buying anyway and you can always use the card in store and then make a payment later that day. My credit score went up immensely doing that.
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Don’t get rid of any cards. Pay the balance and leave them alone. Also try never to have to report stolen or lost cards bc that hits your score too. Not fair but they told me it reflects irresponsibility either way. Also if you want your bills to count towards obtaining credit points, you have to actually sign up for that with equifax.
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I talked to a few loan officers because in the next little bit I wanted to buy a house. I know its at least a year from now before I can achieve that goal but they gave me some great tips. Plus it was free just took some of my time. I’m a single mom as well so having a good credit score gave me the best interest rates.
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Paying late and running up balances will definitely drive it down, not up. I took a credit counseling course when I bought my first home, and a lot of these tips is right on. I built mine by putting only gasoline on one and paying it off completely every month. Don’t let cards sit unused, but keep balances low or pay them off month to month.
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Do you have anything that is not revolving credit? Car loan? Anything like that because those revolving credit cards are not a thorough enough history. Also, if you have recently closed any of the cards that you’re not working your credit score will take a hit.
I have a secure credit card only 200 limit. I pay my electric bill with the CC and then I pay the full amount that I charged. It has really helped me by doing that instead of only paying the minimum amount due
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It’s a credit to debt ratio so the more credit you have access to the better.
See about raising your limit on your card. If you have only one card I would apply for a second or a third card. It might initially drop your score but if you use them once a month to buy a soda or something small then pay it off it will raise your credit score. It’s a waiting game so it takes months to gain in score so just keep doing what you are doing and you’ll get there.
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I had a 300$ limit so every payday I’d pay 300 on my credit and spend that off my credit card on Bill’s and such really what ever and my score went up quickly also my credit card was 12 months no interest
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Cancel any cards that you have missed payment on. I had a card for many years and was young. Missed payments and all that stuff. I went to get a loan May years later and the loan officer told me to cancel that card and that bad credit would fall off. I also had to go to a credit counseling service for my debt. The consolidated all my cards and the interest, and late charges stopped. It’s took a bit but my credit is over 800.
You have to make payments mot pay off every month they want to see you make payments on time that us wgat creates the score so if you charge $10[ dollars and due on say aug. 1 pay like $50 then break the rest down pay like $10 or $20 over the bill due amt but always pay like 5 days early keep doing this for a few months it will go back up
A car payment or mortgage brings it up the most always on time the credit will go down if your income goes down and your credit limits are too high debt to income racio this is usually the only way to go down unless you dont pay do check you may have too much available credit based in income also goes down if you keep applying for credit even if you dont get it ig thats the case stop applying and will go back up in a few months
I dont even know i went with the dumb route on this i have waaaay too many credit cards im trying to pay the ones with the balances off some are way up there ! Some sit unused for a few months and then i put a small balance i can pay off on them so they aren’t closed out and idk its a hot mess
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Dave Ramsey gives great finance advice! Get one of his books from the library to get you started 
Yoitube and Facebook him and his daughter Rachel
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In this times it’s hard not to use your card but if you can hold on just a little bit and don’t use it you’ll do just fine just take it easy I know it’s hard
I didn’t have anyone to teach me them I went in and talked to a very sweet banker after I had already ruined mine. The told me when I get the bill pay $1 over what’s due because it will count as an overage and pay it in full the day it comes in. Also keep usage at 10% and have a few credit cards. The biggest is to pay it in FULL every single month to show you’re responsible. I now have excellent credit and so does my husband, I started helping him when we were dating 11 years ago. Best place to start is at a bank. Wells Fargo has sever options of credit cards.
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Oh and another thing. Seriously evaluate your spending. Cut back on your bills…find a more affordable place until you get right, shop around for better cell plans, cut out cable, go straight WiFi, cut out that gym membership you never use lol. But your credit score as is is amazing.
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You have to show them you can pay at least the minimum on time. You can always make additional payments on the cards as you can but anytime you pay it late it knocks your credit and they can raise the interest rates on the card. It takes patience and persistence to get in the habit of paying on time but your credit score will go up if you always pay on time. Then when you have one paid off you roll what you would have paid into the next ones payment. Always pay off the higher interest rates first. Anytime you pay of a car or other debt early that is reporting it it raises your score.
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If you have multiple cards try putting all your debt on the one with the least interest charges. For example it’s better to make one monthly payment than having to make 4 different payments each month. Late payments really hurt. Watch your inquiries. If necessary get a loan to pay off all your debt.
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Knowing when those creditors are reporting to the bureaus is big, if you have a lower/no balance on the card when reporting goes through helps! A big one is having more cards… the more accounts the better!
The issue is, you’re spending too much. You need to keep it under 10% ideally, and dont pay off completely, but pay about $10-15 above the minimum payment every month.
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Another point to make is don’t open too many cards as when you close them- you will actually get a ding on your credit. Be careful of store cards as interest rates can be very high so pay those off immediately. The big cc companies like a low balance but it’s not bad to have a “running balance “ of $100 or less as they like to get paid their interest🙄. Try a credit union as they have good rates. If you’re looking to buy a home in a year or two look into the options for first time buyers - just educate yourself as much as you can. And always make sure you pay yourself a min of 10% and put into savings before you pay a debtor otherwise you a. Never have a cushion and b. Feel like all you are doing is working to pay bills. You’ve worked and gotten paid so pay yourself that 10% just do t use it:)
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Your score is based on a couple of things. If you only have credit cards for credit you need a car loan. They have points they give you on each thing on your credit. So if you pay your credit cards by due date and get a loan for a car you should be good. That’s how I got my credit good. Pay on time or even early helps.
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Try not to use your card for a couple months and continue to make your payments on time to bring the balances down. If you show to much debt it will lower your score. The total of all credit card balances should be 30% or less, never close to the limit. If you have a car payment or mortgage try to pay a little extra each month as well to bring down your balances.
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I quickly scanned through the comments and there is a ton of incorrect and poor information being shared. Explaining credit is more than I can summarize in a quick FB comment.
My recommendation is to call a rep at the bank you do business with and set an appointment for a financial review and help with credit building. That’s likely the best place to start.
A quick suggestion is to have various type of credit lines- not just a credit card. Like a secured installment loan. There is no quick fix! It will take time.
I’ve worked in finance, banking, and credit for years.
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So when I started building my credit I pulled my ceedit deaputed a bunch of chatges and settled other and that jumped my score almost 100 points alone. Then I got a secured credit card which I used for small purchases and paid off a week prior to the due date, the interest was high so I made sure to pay that one off. I then pulled a secured loan and put the full amount plus fees and interest into the account so it would cycle itself out without any actual payments needing to be made by me on a specific date. I then got a regular credit card and spent 100 the first month and about 20-30 every month following. My payments came out to 25.00. I pay about 50-100 every month depending on the balance. I was able to get my score almost to 600 and it took about 6months. Once you hit that point start doing purchases on your regular credit cards and pay them abiut 75% off to continue to boost it.
As soon I got my first credit card, I searched online on tips and “guidelines” on how to use it properly. I heard sad stories about bad credit and not able to pay off debts and I didn’t want it to happen.
What I do is whenever I buy something in installment terms,then I use cards.
But I opt for cash. And I always keep track of my daily, weekly and monthly expenses.
Got to a local credit union and get yourself a secured credit card. Then also do a secured loan. Both of these will help you.
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Pay off stores you are no longer shopping at. Take their cards out of your wallet and if you want to shop their pay cash. I dropped a 5% limit paying a card off
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You say 30%, optimal is 9% or lower owed on your cards. Say you have a credit line of 10k, 1k would be the max balance that should be on it. Its more credit to dept than credit to income ratio. If that make sense
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There is something called debt to income ratio. You can,only expend a certain percentage to credit card debt vs. How much you spend just to live. Rent, groceries, utilities etc. If you owe to much over how much you make in income, then the points don’t go up.
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Look up color my credit by Alisa Glutz, she’s a loan officer and also on social media where she gives alot of tips.
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Get a capitol one card , u have to sometimes put a deposit. Use it for gas , whatever u usually buy anyway and then pay it off as soon as u get paid whatever u used . This is what a credit repair person told me to do .
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I only use my CC if I have cash to pay it right away.
We live off our credit cards but pay them within hours of using
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You need to pay on time, every month. Stop with inquiries. Keep your utilization at 19 percent or lower.
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Bought a house in March, paid off all debt. Two credit cards and PayPal. I now have 756 credit rating… Honestly I have worked hard like you all and it took me until last year to get my credit above 700. I would try the snowball strategy. It worked for me but I suggest reading into it thoroughly before you try it. I paid the smaller debt first and reached an agreement with the credit lines of the larger. Make larger contributions to the smaller and get them paid off. Then take the money you would’ve paid to the smaller debt to the larger… In the eyes of the credit line holders… They start seeing you pay more than what you agreed to, they will be more willing to another agreement if the need arises. Then when you pay the second one off, the third goes down fast.
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I apologize for invading without replying to your situation. I can’t figure out how to post to the dearly moms group can anyone help me out?
They do like when you don’t pay it off completely so that you pay interest on what you spend. Also make sure you don’t have more credit available to you than what you make. And don’t max out a credit card.
To many credit cards is bad as well, you don’t need one to every place you shop lol
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I love credit karma, credit sesame & Experian boost it helps your build, pay off & track what’s actually reporting
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Did you just recently get a divorce? If you did or your going through one your credit will go down.
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There are some credit card companies that have credit building cards. One off hand is called credit one.
Sales and coupons… Digital are a great thing these days. Time consuming, but worth the savings
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Always leave A $5 balance on CC’s. Make sure you’re charging every month and paying down to $5 when it’s due
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You have to spend at least 50% and pay it off the day before your do date for 4 months and your score will increase between
15-35 points.
I started to rebuild mine with a small secured credit card. It is high interest but it is helping
Oh hunny save yourself the trouble and start following Dave Ramsey its so much more worth it then stressing about credit.
Don’t spend. Anything major that you would have to have a credit rating for they can manually enter it.