Add myself as auth. user to wife's card vs trying to get 2nd card right now?

[Amy26]

Wow, still so much "anti credit" perspectives in the "rebuilding" section... this is why I haven't been on this board in a while. Why have a rebuilding section at all if there is going to be so much disdain for people trying to get credit again.

Anyhoo... I can also attest to the authorized user thing helping credit. 1. It will help with your Average age of accounts (if the account is long established) 2. It will help with your utilization 3. The payment history will help. The only time I have seen a card NOT help as an authorized user is if the card actually reports on you as an "authorized" card.

My husband is new to the US with a very thin credit file and I had a very hard time getting him credit on his own when he first got a social security number. The first thing I did was add him to my Hooters card which established his credit file and gave him 2 years of positive history on a good standing account. Since then, he has been able to obtain his own credit and now has cards with limits almost better than some of mine. He even has an American Express card which I happily latched on to as an AU for myself.

[Logan]

Wow, still so much "anti credit" perspectives in the "rebuilding" section... this is why I haven't been on this board in a while. Why have a rebuilding section at all if there is going to be so much disdain for people trying to get credit again.

Anyhoo... I can also attest to the authorized user thing helping credit. 1. It will help with your Average age of accounts (if the account is long established) 2. It will help with your utilization 3. The payment history will help. The only time I have seen a card NOT help as an authorized user is if the card actually reports on you as an "authorized" card.

My husband is new to the US with a very thin credit file and I had a very hard time getting him credit on his own when he first got a social security number. The first thing I did was add him to my Hooters card which established his credit file and gave him 2 years of positive history on a good standing account. Since then, he has been able to obtain his own credit and now has cards with limits almost better than some of mine. He even has an American Express card which I happily latched on to as an AU for myself.

We've always got to fight these people over credit cards. Think of a credit card as a gun. There are some people that should never have a gun and if you do have a gun you need to be responsible and know how to use it.
Logan

[LSUTiger32]

If you filed BK and are not broke then I believe that would make you a criminal.

[Logan]

If you filed BK and are not broke then I believe that would make you a criminal.

Really? You're a criminal when you break a law. You can file BK no matter how much money you have but it is up to the Trustee to determine the outcome of your BK filing.

[sunshinepa]

If you filed BK and are not broke then I believe that would make you a criminal.

I think most folks would say that they are not criminals and most probably are not broke. However, many are lucky to be able to pay the bills, provide food, shelter and other necessary things like medicine. For whatever reason, not having the huge medical and/or credit card bills now allows them to survive.

IMHO that does not make them a criminal!

[HHM]

Wow, still so much "anti credit" perspectives in the "rebuilding" section... this is why I haven't been on this board in a while. Why have a rebuilding section at all if there is going to be so much disdain for people trying to get credit again.

Anyhoo... I can also attest to the authorized user thing helping credit. 1. It will help with your Average age of accounts (if the account is long established) 2. It will help with your utilization 3. The payment history will help. The only time I have seen a card NOT help as an authorized user is if the card actually reports on you as an "authorized" card.

My husband is new to the US with a very thin credit file and I had a very hard time getting him credit on his own when he first got a social security number. The first thing I did was add him to my Hooters card which established his credit file and gave him 2 years of positive history on a good standing account. Since then, he has been able to obtain his own credit and now has cards with limits almost better than some of mine. He even has an American Express card which I happily latched on to as an AU for myself.

It's not so much about being "anti credit" but bringing a different perspective toward credit. But, I disagree with the premise that you should get credit for credit's sake. The false premise is that a person "needs" credit. That is absolutely false. Cash (or liquidity) is king. Keep in mind, there is a difference that often gets overlooked, (and you and your husband made the same false assumption), there is a difference between having "bad" credit and having "no" credit. Having no credit, or being a credit ghost is not a negative, doesn't hurt jobs or anything like that. And if you manage your finances properly, there is nothing you need or want for which you need to resort to credit.

I have several reasons, but one reason is because it is a slippery slope. The natural conclusion of the statement leads to credit score addicts. You start with a few credit cards to "rebuild" and you start using the cards. Then you learn that it is slightly more beneficial to carry a balance vs paying the card off every month, so you start carrying balances. Then you learn that diversity of credit is helpful, so instead of paying cash for your next car, you finance it. Then you buy your next house with a mortgage; before you know it, you have 760 credit score but are AGAIN, negative net worth and one layoff or recession away from your 2nd bankruptcy.

[Amy26]

That is perhaps one perspective... but not everyone thinks like that or has that happen to them. And my husband and I made no false assumptions about anything and I said nothing about having bad credit or no credit. I was simply answering the question.

And yes it really is "anti credit" here... there is a difference between bringing a different perspective and outwardly just telling people "what are you doing? Stop, you're crazy". Again, if your "different perspective" is just to tell people credit is evil and bad and not to have it then don't have a rebuilding forum at all. People come here for exactly what the forum says...rebuilding advice... and yet so many people here do exactly the opposite and tell them not to rebuild and OMG you're just gonna do it again.

Everything in life is a slippery slope... walking out your door and getting in the car is a slippery slope...but we do it. I don't knock anyone for choosing to live cash only and hell I prefer that method myself. Just because I USE my credit and exercise it doesn't mean it rules my life or does something bad to me because I make that choice. And also, just because I USE my credit doesn't mean I don't live on my cash either.

And everyone keeps talking about these people who are addicted to credit and are "obsessed with your FICO" ... where are these people? I'm sure they exist but just because someone is asking about how to rebuild IN A REBUILDING FORUM doesn't mean they are credit obsessed.

I actually feel really bad for most of the people that post here because its a false sense of security... they were nurtured through their bankruptcy by many helpful people here but when they come to the REBUILDING forum afterward they just get hammered.

The topic of this post was do authorized users help... I answered that question. How dare you make insinuations into what I said and put words in my mouth with saying my husband and had wrong perspectives. The thing that pisses me off the most in this forum is that your "alternative perspectives" are never presented as such. They are presented as attacks or as if your perspective was fact and the only truth.

I ask again, why is there a rebuilding forum at all if you guys are just going to slam people every time they ask a question about rebuilding? We are not here to delve in the psychie of the people who post here... we are here to help them with their credit and guide them on HOW TO REBUILD IT. That is what the section of this forum is for.

[ssc2761]

I agree! In the last few months I've been getting rebuilding advice mostly on other forums. Like you said, it is a rebuilding forum and when you ask a question within this forum, the advice should be given to help you rebuild, not to assume you are broke which is far from the truth.

That is perhaps one perspective... but not everyone thinks like that or has that happen to them. And my husband and I made no false assumptions about anything and I said nothing about having bad credit or no credit. I was simply answering the question.

And yes it really is "anti credit" here... there is a difference between bringing a different perspective and outwardly just telling people "what are you doing? Stop, you're crazy". Again, if your "different perspective" is just to tell people credit is evil and bad and not to have it then don't have a rebuilding forum at all. People come here for exactly what the forum says...rebuilding advice... and yet so many people here do exactly the opposite and tell them not to rebuild and OMG you're just gonna do it again.

Everything in life is a slippery slope... walking out your door and getting in the car is a slippery slope...but we do it. I don't knock anyone for choosing to live cash only and hell I prefer that method myself. Just because I USE my credit and exercise it doesn't mean it rules my life or does something bad to me because I make that choice. And also, just because I USE my credit doesn't mean I don't live on my cash either.

And everyone keeps talking about these people who are addicted to credit and are "obsessed with your FICO" ... where are these people? I'm sure they exist but just because someone is asking about how to rebuild IN A REBUILDING FORUM doesn't mean they are credit obsessed.

I actually feel really bad for most of the people that post here because its a false sense of security... they were nurtured through their bankruptcy by many helpful people here but when they come to the REBUILDING forum afterward they just get hammered.

The topic of this post was do authorized users help... I answered that question. How dare you make insinuations into what I said and put words in my mouth with saying my husband and had wrong perspectives. The thing that pisses me off the most in this forum is that your "alternative perspectives" are never presented as such. They are presented as attacks or as if your perspective was fact and the only truth.

I ask again, why is there a rebuilding forum at all if you guys are just going to slam people every time they ask a question about rebuilding? We are not here to delve in the psychie of the people who post here... we are here to help them with their credit and guide them on HOW TO REBUILD IT. That is what the section of this forum is for.

[HHM]

I agree! In the last few months I've been getting rebuilding advice mostly on other forums. Like you said, it is a rebuilding forum and when you ask a question within this forum, the advice should be given to help you rebuild, [/b]not to assume you are broke which is far from the truth[/b].

But that is just it, if you are not broke, you don't need credit. As I said, at least from my perspective (I can't speak for others), the underlying assumption I challenge is the need to rebuild in the first place (or to actively rebuild). All I am trying to challenge you to do is question why you feel the need to rebuild.

[Logan]

But that is just it, if you are not broke, you don't need credit. As I said, at least from my perspective (I can't speak for others), the underlying assumption I challenge is the need to rebuild in the first place (or to actively rebuild). All I am trying to challenge you to do is question why you feel the need to rebuild.

So please tell me how you buy a house if you don't rebuild your credit? I guess I could continue to pay 2k in rent for the rest of my life(eventually rent will go up). And then again how is a mortgage debt really different than rent? If I dont have a mortgage I still have to live somewhere so in affect I will always be in debt to a landlord. And last I checked in order to get a mortgage you have to have credit.
Logan

[Pandora]

So please tell me how you buy a house if you don't rebuild your credit? ..And last I checked in order to get a mortgage you have to have credit.
Logan

you save up the $ and pay cash.... ??

I can see both sides to the coin; on one hand those that declared BK, in most instances, it's due to credit card usage / living outside their means, so to put another "temptation" in their hand is asking for trouble. Everyone always starts out with good intentions (i.e., I'll only charge XX amount and pay it off every month) but, then there are some that run into problems and end up charging away, carrying balances....and in no time, are back at a Ch. 7. Gotta admit, there are some out there that play the system every few years when they're able to.

On the other side - rebuilding credit to lower the cost of insurance, etc - yeah, I can see that too however I think what HHM is referring to is that eventually your credit report / score will recover all on its own as the BK falls off. Any good reporting loans remain regardless, so it shows you have a good history of repayment as it is. Our ins. initially went up once we filed Ch. 13 - however just past 1 year in payments, its gone down again - and it will continue to go down each year that goes forward.

What is hard to swallow many times is that there are some that get discharged on day 1 - and on day 2 they are applying for credit cards again. That blows my mind....just discharged thousands of debt due to credit cards, yet reapply immediately for the same thing that put you there. Boggling sometimes - but I'm not Mr. / Mrs. XX either, I think if habit brought you to BK (living outside means, making excuses for purchases, saying it'll be paid off next month, etc) - then habit can bring you BACK into another BK somewhere down the road.

We all have different views on credit, credit reports, FICO and even BK, but in the end I think everyone respects everyone else's decisions - sorta like a marriage vow - for better or worse

[tobee43]

time is the key to re-establishing one's credit after bk.

as pointed out, my some of the PP's, what may be right for one may not be right for others.

while i'm personally more on the board on this issue with hmm, i also understand there are many out there young, just out of college, bogged down with debt, working jobs making little money to make ends meet, no less seeing clear enough to begin to save again.

IMHO i also believes it depends where you are in your lifetime. getting ready to retire, getting married and starting a family, getting a job, losing a job. of course one could go on and on with scenarios, as to how much credit one feels they need. actually, the truth is, for those wanting sometime in the future to purchase a home, it made be more of a priority. however, i am still a firm believe is time is the essence of improving one's credit. time does heal most wounds, including your credit report. i understand it's hard to be patience since we are such an "instant" society, but unfortunately, that is the hardest most difficult change needed to get back on the road to credit and financial health.

[Logan]

you save up the $ and pay cash.... ??

I can see both sides to the coin; on one hand those that declared BK, in most instances, it's due to credit card usage / living outside their means, so to put another "temptation" in their hand is asking for trouble. Everyone always starts out with good intentions (i.e., I'll only charge XX amount and pay it off every month) but, then there are some that run into problems and end up charging away, carrying balances....and in no time, are back at a Ch. 7. Gotta admit, there are some out there that play the system every few years when they're able to.

On the other side - rebuilding credit to lower the cost of insurance, etc - yeah, I can see that too however I think what HHM is referring to is that eventually your credit report / score will recover all on its own as the BK falls off. Any good reporting loans remain regardless, so it shows you have a good history of repayment as it is. Our ins. initially went up once we filed Ch. 13 - however just past 1 year in payments, its gone down again - and it will continue to go down each year that goes forward.

What is hard to swallow many times is that there are some that get discharged on day 1 - and on day 2 they are applying for credit cards again. That blows my mind....just discharged thousands of debt due to credit cards, yet reapply immediately for the same thing that put you there. Boggling sometimes - but I'm not Mr. / Mrs. XX either, I think if habit brought you to BK (living outside means, making excuses for purchases, saying it'll be paid off next month, etc) - then habit can bring you BACK into another BK somewhere down the road.

We all have different views on credit, credit reports, FICO and even BK, but in the end I think everyone respects everyone else's decisions - sorta like a marriage vow - for better or worse

Save the money and pay cash? I dot know where you live but houses in my area start at 300k and by the time I could save 300k the same house will be worth 500kk and I would have spent 300k on rent.
Renting is a form of debt. I don't know about you but I don't have any place to live for free.

[Amy26]

And also saying time will make your credit recover naturally is also not usually true. I have seen many people on this very board and elsewhere that do the "cash only living" for years after their BK and then expect their credit to have magically improved after 3 years and they check it and they say gee... why is my score still in the 500's or low 600's? If you truly want to "rebuild" again, as this forum is called, you have to work on it in some fashion.

I personally did not file because I lived outside my means or felt that credit was super cool and awesome to wrack up debt I'd never pay off. I was perfectly fine paying my bills and I had savings. Its not my fault that I was laid off from my job overseas and then not eligible for unemployment money in the US because I was laid off from a foreign company. I had savings...and I was able to live and pay my bills for 6+ months... but guess what I didn't find another job for about 12 months... eventually your savings is gonna run out. Unless you're super rich and you've saved up money to survive on for years without a job, then no matter how well your finances are if you get into serious trouble something is gonna give eventually.

Again, not everyone who gets a credit card is gonna say OMG I just got credit lets go max it out! Some people actually use credit responsibly and to their benefit and yes, even people who file for BK can do that too. There are exceptions to every rule a different scenario for everything... but there is NO valid reason to assume the worst in EVERY person that posts here and just spout off condescending things to people or tell them they shouldn't be rebuilding their credit... when, hello, they're in a rebuilding forum.

And @Pandora, you mentioned about having "good reporting loans remain regardless"... what good reporting loans are people having if they just discharged all their debts? If they did ride throughs those are gone too...only way to have good reporting loans going forward is to get new ones. In my case, the only good reporting loans I had after discharge were my student loans because those didn't get discharged.

As Logan said, houses are fricken expensive... where I live a stupid 900 sq ft condo can cost 300k. And I hear people say "oh well you should move to a cheaper area"... yea well as we all should know its not easy to uproot your life and go somewhere else when you are 1. where the jobs are and 2. in a stable position. And technically, with everyone else's view of being in debt, anything you pay to anyone means your in debt... IE: Your phone bill, your cable bill, your electricity, the health insurance that you pay for... if you're so against debts are you saying you can't have those either?

It would all be well and wonderful for us all to go live in a big corn field with no running water and a big gas stove and grow our own food and knit our own clothes... (maybe some of you do?) but that is not life (at least not the one I wanna live).

We all have varying opinions but while I respect the "cash only" people's viewpoints and acknowledge them as another alternative to not using/having credit, most of the cash only people here do not have equal respect for those wishing to use credit (and by use I do not mean collect debt). That is my problem with the forum and the viewpoints... its not that people have them its that the other viewpoints are not respected...they are shunned, made fun of and called 'crazy' and 'stupid'. And again, all appearing in a "REBUILDING" forum that seems to be exactly the opposite.

There is NOTHING wrong with using credit responsibly and to your advantage. If you personally feel that you can't handle credit, don't like it or whatever...then that's your prerogative. Yes, there are people that will get in trouble again.... but seriously, is a thread on a forum yelling at someone going to change human nature and save all these people from going to bk again? Probably not. This is not a psychiatric forum and is not our place to be judging people or as I said before, delving into their psyche to see what they could or might do with credit down the road.

If someone asks a question, I answer it simply... not try and read into their thought patterns or tell them they are wrong for trying to reestablish their credit. Not everyone thinks the same way and behaves or practices the same thing. Some of the things that go on on this forum are akinned to someone telling another person how to raise their children... its none of their business and should not be done.

[BankruptinNJ]

And also saying time will make your credit recover naturally is also not usually true. I have seen many people on this very board and elsewhere that do the "cash only living" for years after their BK and then expect their credit to have magically improved after 3 years and they check it and they say gee... why is my score still in the 500's or low 600's? If you truly want to "rebuild" again, as this forum is called, you have to work on it in some fashion.

I personally did not file because I lived outside my means or felt that credit was super cool and awesome to wrack up debt I'd never pay off. I was perfectly fine paying my bills and I had savings. Its not my fault that I was laid off from my job overseas and then not eligible for unemployment money in the US because I was laid off from a foreign company. I had savings...and I was able to live and pay my bills for 6+ months... but guess what I didn't find another job for about 12 months... eventually your savings is gonna run out. Unless you're super rich and you've saved up money to survive on for years without a job, then no matter how well your finances are if you get into serious trouble something is gonna give eventually.

Again, not everyone who gets a credit card is gonna say OMG I just got credit lets go max it out! Some people actually use credit responsibly and to their benefit and yes, even people who file for BK can do that too. There are exceptions to every rule a different scenario for everything... but there is NO valid reason to assume the worst in EVERY person that posts here and just spout off condescending things to people or tell them they shouldn't be rebuilding their credit... when, hello, they're in a rebuilding forum.

And @Pandora, you mentioned about having "good reporting loans remain regardless"... what good reporting loans are people having if they just discharged all their debts? If they did ride throughs those are gone too...only way to have good reporting loans going forward is to get new ones. In my case, the only good reporting loans I had after discharge were my student loans because those didn't get discharged.

As Logan said, houses are fricken expensive... where I live a stupid 900 sq ft condo can cost 300k. And I hear people say "oh well you should move to a cheaper area"... yea well as we all should know its not easy to uproot your life and go somewhere else when you are 1. where the jobs are and 2. in a stable position. And technically, with everyone else's view of being in debt, anything you pay to anyone means your in debt... IE: Your phone bill, your cable bill, your electricity, the health insurance that you pay for... if you're so against debts are you saying you can't have those either?

It would all be well and wonderful for us all to go live in a big corn field with no running water and a big gas stove and grow our own food and knit our own clothes... (maybe some of you do?) but that is not life (at least not the one I wanna live).

We all have varying opinions but while I respect the "cash only" people's viewpoints and acknowledge them as another alternative to not using/having credit, most of the cash only people here do not have equal respect for those wishing to use credit (and by use I do not mean collect debt). That is my problem with the forum and the viewpoints... its not that people have them its that the other viewpoints are not respected...they are shunned, made fun of and called 'crazy' and 'stupid'. And again, all appearing in a "REBUILDING" forum that seems to be exactly the opposite.

There is NOTHING wrong with using credit responsibly and to your advantage. If you personally feel that you can't handle credit, don't like it or whatever...then that's your prerogative. Yes, there are people that will get in trouble again.... but seriously, is a thread on a forum yelling at someone going to change human nature and save all these people from going to bk again? Probably not. This is not a psychiatric forum and is not our place to be judging people or as I said before, delving into their psyche to see what they could or might do with credit down the road.

If someone asks a question, I answer it simply... not try and read into their thought patterns or tell them they are wrong for trying to reestablish their credit. Not everyone thinks the same way and behaves or practices the same thing. Some of the things that go on on this forum are akinned to someone telling another person how to raise their children... its none of their business and should not be done.

My scores went up 20 points immediately after the discharge (November 2010) and have not budged since. I have refused to get any credit since then, because I want to wait a year after discharge and also to save money in my savings account. I know that I will eventually have to get a CC because it is the only way to rebuild credit. I am just not in a rush. I am working on curbing my impatient nature!