This is an interesting page all about my credit and what I have learned about budgeting and building a good credit score.
A few years back, while I was still living with my husband, we attended a several week long class on finances. It was a great class and I learned a ton from it. The difficult part of this class was getting my husband to do the work at home with me. The budgeting, the discussions about our money, and then putting it into motion. I was trying desperately to do it all alone and the frustration kept growing.
Now in 2018 I am about to be divorced, raising 4 children, and alone. It is a very difficult situation financially. Topping that off is that fact that several years back my husband at the time wanted to file for bankruptcy and I was included on that. So, after he was removed from the house he was supposed to be paying for the van we had a loan on as well as our marital home. After several months I received a phone call from an investigator stating that the van had not been paid on and they were looking to repo it. I called the bank in the am and discussed arrangements for getting it all caught up. The vehicle was reposessed anyway! It was frustrating and heartwrenching because I had worked so hard to come up with the money and still ended up with no vehicle.
Around this time I had been told to check my credit report for anything that might have been false. My husband had been very angry at the seperation and they thought he might be a person who would try to harm me by using and abusing my credit. When I looked up my reports I was heart broken at what I saw. My credit score had plumeted. It was 401! HOLY SHEET! I was mind boggled at the number and never thought a credit score could go that low! WOW, did I learn something then. While I was finding all of this out I also found out that he was claiming several credit cards and other things on his credit were done fraudulantly by me! Baffled I explained to my attorney that I would never do such a thing! Anything that was on his credit was his own and if it was something he requested me do it was with his complete conscent and knowledge.
Point of all of this is:
#1 ALWAYS guard your credit!
#2 If you are with someone who refuses to discuss financials with you then maybe they are not the right person for you.
#3 People WILL, I repleat WILL, try to hurt your credit in an attempt to hurt you so be careful who you allow to have your personal information.
More to come…
And my credit score almost a year later is now up almost a full 100 points. It is 498! I am working on it but I am still learning.