If you want to get your score up:
Get a full credit report!
Make sure you don't owe anyone a dime. Dentist bills, old cell phone bills, anything. Make phone calls and get that shit straightenedout.
Pay all your credit cards off. Don't close the accounts if they have been open for a while. If they have only been open for 1-3 years, close them as they bring your average down.
But don't close any cards that have > $10k limits. You want those open.
Do the math on balance transfers. There's always a fee. It's only worth it if you can take a 20% balance and put it on a low low one.
Start paying all your shit off. Start with your credit cards, and then your cars. You can do lowest balances first or highest interest rates. Whichever keeps you motivated.
Go in your garage/basement and sell anything worth more than $25 that you haven't touched in a year. Start tossing shit up on craigslist or marketplace. You'll make a couple hundred to a couple thousand bucks this way.
Buy all your shit on a credit card and pay it off every week. The reason I say that is that if you wait until the end of the month you will be shocked that you've spent thousands more than you think!
Try to get a 2% back card to do your daily purchases on. You can either take the cash back or just apply it to the balance of the card. The money is just in one hand or the other.
About 9 years ago I foreclosed a house, had a 500 credit score and had $20k in debt. Now I'm debt free (except my house which is 40% paid off) and have an 820
Get a full credit report!
Make sure you don't owe anyone a dime. Dentist bills, old cell phone bills, anything. Make phone calls and get that shit straightenedout.
Pay all your credit cards off. Don't close the accounts if they have been open for a while. If they have only been open for 1-3 years, close them as they bring your average down.
But don't close any cards that have > $10k limits. You want those open.
Do the math on balance transfers. There's always a fee. It's only worth it if you can take a 20% balance and put it on a low low one.
Start paying all your shit off. Start with your credit cards, and then your cars. You can do lowest balances first or highest interest rates. Whichever keeps you motivated.
Go in your garage/basement and sell anything worth more than $25 that you haven't touched in a year. Start tossing shit up on craigslist or marketplace. You'll make a couple hundred to a couple thousand bucks this way.
Buy all your shit on a credit card and pay it off every week. The reason I say that is that if you wait until the end of the month you will be shocked that you've spent thousands more than you think!
Try to get a 2% back card to do your daily purchases on. You can either take the cash back or just apply it to the balance of the card. The money is just in one hand or the other.
About 9 years ago I foreclosed a house, had a 500 credit score and had $20k in debt. Now I'm debt free (except my house which is 40% paid off) and have an 820