hey guys! i’m pretty embarrassed, but my credit is horrible. credit karma says my trans union score is 469. i’m 24 now and i’m trying to get my life together, but i don’t know anything about credit. i didn’t really grow up with anyone that had any sort of financial literacy so here i am. anyways, i’m willing to spill any details about my score to anyone willing to tell me what to do first to start working on it! any advice is appreciated, and yes i’m aware i’m an idiot lol
my credit is horrible cause i didn’t care at 20
byu/buzzedlightyearrrr inpersonalfinance
Posted by buzzedlightyearrrr
3 Comments
How much do you make? What are your expenses? How much total debt do you have?
I wouldn’t worry about your score. Your score improves when you just do the right things: pay off your balance in full every month.
Basically the biggest thing will be 7 years from your last late payment (that’s reported to bureaus) aka not just 5 days late and nonpayments before top notch credit but there’s plenty you can do. outline your situation and ask ChatGPT or other free service then do your due diligence on that advice. Don’t get duped into paying for something.
What kind of debt is it? I saw your other response. Literally just pay it down as fast as possible (more than minimum and max you can), don’t miss payments is key.
Many banks offer a secured credit card which would be a great place to start building your credit up for 6 months to a year. After that timeframe look to see if you can get approved for a credit card with no annual fee and close down the secured card that likely required a security deposit and monthly fee. The trick after doing this will be to use the card every month on gas/groceries or other expenses you already are paying for while not spending the money set aside for those bills on other things. The credit card is a tool to build credit, not free money because if you do not pay everything off each month you will dig a hole that is extremely difficult to get out of