Ye, but... you might wanna make sure and wait for someone else to confirm my answer as I am not quite sure. Better yet, why don't you email the Discover Card guys because they can answer your Discover Card question better...

Not getting a secured card the month after I found CB was the single biggest mistake I made in credit repair..

My credit did not clean up as fast as some on here, and that would have given me a huge headstart if I would have gotten my card 2 years before I did...

OP, I think I can save you a HUGE bit of Money here: You can EASILY.. -EASILY- find a Vehicle with NO PROBLEMS for Approx. $1000 or Less. Youd OWN it Outright, and it would have NO ISSUES!!! All that is USUALLY required (Granted, most people are not as inclined with Vehicles as I am) is a Test drive BE SURE TO TURN -OFF- THE RADIO, THEY WILL HAVE IT ON IF THERE IS A NOISE THEY DONT WANT YO TO HEAR) and a Test Drive..

I got by spending $300 on Mine. But thats just me. Just Saying.....

.. and it WILL NOT BE A CAR off the DEALER'S LOT it will be PRIVATE SALE..

Just saying. No shame, Older cars are better anyway...........

+1 Secured cards IS a good "One of the" First Steps I am in Epic Agreement...

My only worry is getting the baddies removed. I did a credit cleanup a couple years ago, got some stuff off, but medical collections pulled it back down. soo, I'm HOPING, that even if I cant get the baddies off, the new credit will eventually override the bad, particularly with the creditors I'm dealing with...

There's a bit more to finding a reliable used car than that, but I suppose that's a start..

Remember, some people have no clue when it comes to cars, especially the mechanical aspect..

This post has been edited by.

Fallon.

: 09 December 2009 - 03:42 PM..

I already got a car. I wanna finance a truck (need one)...

I'm here because my report was 90% medical baddies..

Anyway... worst case? You get a secured card (like US Bank that will allow you to up the amount in $100 increments), and it takes 3-4 years to get the baddies off. You have that much more positive history when they do. What if you can't get them off and they have to age off? Then you have even more positive account history. Getting a secured card is rarely a bad thing...

So, worse case scenario should be to keep my new credit good, and wait out the baddies until the scale tips the otherway..

On a side note: how are cellphone companies? I hear horror stories about them messing up peoples credit...

I can think of one exception. When I started to "rebuild" I didn't quite see the full picture of my scenario. Since my credit wasn't TOO horrible, I got a couple "easy" approval cards, and built on that while dealing with the rest. Low and behold, ex filed BK, and left a balance on her auto lease she totalled. They sued me. The Capital One sued me a second time for a debt they'd already gotten a default judgment on like 5 years before (it was getting close to renew).



If an honest assessment of your situation shows no chance of a future BK filing, I agree, get a secured card early and never, EVER miss a payment date or go over the limit..

This post has been edited by.

Fallon.

: 09 December 2009 - 04:00 PM..

Yes that is true. I am to the point where I can let a car IDLE for 20 or 30 minutes (that never happens in a car sale, the Drive tells,) and LISTEN to the car (Radio on IS a sign of trying to hide something, but sometimes it IS hard to turn it off, you MUST, MUST, MUST..) ... and make a Reasonable guess, based on what I see, if the car is:.

1) Worth it;.

2) Disguised in an attempt to pass off a Lemon (Patched Head Gasket, sometimes it's impossible to tell;).

3) a Piece of crap..

But thats just me..

... OP: You do NOT need to finance a Truck. You can get a PERFECT Early 90s Chevrolet 2500 for $2000 IF you looked Hard enough. IM SERIOUS!!! ... with a budget of $3000, a $2500 1991 Silverado MAY be perfect. Autotrader.com will tell..

Im Approximating, but my $300 Car (I worked McDonalds and was Underemployed; now just No Money, my Posts about this are numberous, putting together a Plan, in my own Aspergian Way) IS Perfect..

So.. WHY spend $3000 or MORE when you can get SOMETHING for $300-$1000? ($500 to $600 is USUALLY the Sweet spot, but it varies..).

Im sure you get what I am trying to say..

T-Mobile FlexPay will NOT ruin your Credit..

My Plan is very basic. 300 Minutes, $29.99 Plan amount, Actual Payment: $39.43 all Tax included...

Cell plans are like everything else, if you don't pay them they will mess up your credit. If you do, they generally don't. *shrug*..

Something caught my attention- you'd said you have a bunch of charge-offs but plan to take out a loan or two with your credit unions...many here say that credit unions will not issue credit if there are charge-offs on your report..

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, because I'd like to apply!!! I don't know if the same is true for secured cards, but that's a good start in any event..

I do think it's a good idea to finance a vehicle if you can as opposed to purchasing one outright. Having an installment account can't hurt, and may help you down the road when your credit is in better shape and you're looking to finance something else..

Good luck!..

My local CU gave me my first 5 figure credit line ($7,000) with a 5 year old 5 figure Capital One chargoff reporting ($8,000)..

I was floored when the approval came through..

This post has been edited by.

Jtoast.

: 09 December 2009 - 05:59 PM..

Did you leave off a zero? Cause THAT is impressive!..

Paying (with Discover card) attention to chargeoffs would eliminate their need to give out secured products, which I seriously doubt they would do. they have NOTHING to lose on a secured transaction...

That's not entirely true- people have been declined before for secured. Off the top of my head I can't remember what the banks' perspective for liability is, but maybe someone else will chime in...

I hate to say yes, but sometimes time is your friend..

I've never let a cellphone go to collections, so not sure..

So, in short... yes, keep your new credit good while tackling your bad...