Need advice on how to improve my present credit

I would begin by taking a close look at my credit report. I would determine which debts, if any, are beyond the SOL. I would prioritize the debts, first of all, with the ones outside SOL at the bottom of my list. I would begin negotiations with the others, in order of priority and IN WRITING. Depending on the age of the debt, you will probably do just as well to work out a settlement and negotiate either a deletion from your credit report (ideal situation) or a Paid in Full notation. Paid Settled would be the least attractive, but is still better than an unpaid collection.

You can use the following facts to base your negotiations for payment:

The amount that companies pay for bad debt depends on the type of account and its age. In general:

- Debts that are delinquent but not yet charged off by the original creditor can be purchased for up to 12 cents on the dollar.

- Accounts that have recently been charged off: 7 to 9 cents on the dollar.

- Accounts that are slightly older and on which a collection agency or two has already taken a whack: 1 to 3 cents on the dollar.

- Years-old, out-of-statute debts: A penny or less.

The oldest debt is by far the cheapest, sometimes costing the collector 25 cents for every $100 in face value. If the collector can convince the borrower to cough up even $1, the company has made back its costs.

Hope this helps some.

If you are living paycheck to paycheck I would see what I could pay off or pay down.
If you cancel your cards it can affect your credit score. I have a small revolving balance will bring it up.
If you are struggling with regular bills I would stash away some of that money for a just in case and try to pay off the cards with the rest.

Hello there. I work for a bank, and I had a client that was the same situation as you, but wanted to do some renovations and build a barn.

This is just my opinion...

Pay down or pay off as much as you can, but also put some of it away into a high paying savings account, like a Certificate of Deposit, Money Market Account or other High Yield Savings account. And do your shopping around for interest rates too! You want to have some sort of liquid assets to use for a down payment or emergency.

After paying down or paying off your credit cards, especially the ones in collections first, don't open any new credit cards or loans, and let your credit cool down a bit with number of inquires and open accounts with balances. Keep one or two cards (preferably the ones with smaller credit lines) open, but dont use them. Closing out accounts can hurt your score too. So don't close everything out, that will only make your history look limited. The ones paid down, keep making those extra payments to get them paid off quicker. Even call your creditor to see about getting a lower interest rate. I had a Citi card, and I simply asked about lowering my rate, and they did. I spent some time on the phone with them, explaining my situation, they actually put me into some sort of low interest rate program for about 9 months, where my interest rate was around 3%. (Yes, THREE PERCENT). But one late payment, it would shoot back up immediately.

After paying off and paying down my debt, and not applying for any type of credit in about one to two years, my score improved greatly. I literally went from the mid 500s to the mid 700s.

Check out your credit report. You should be able to view all three reports for free. Check out www.annualcreditreport.com. My advise though, is view one every 4 months so you keep on top of your credit throughout the year. Fix any discrepances there may be on the reports. You want your credit in order when it comes to that big purchase.

Another useful site is www.myfico.com. This site has a lot to offer, and can be very educational. Check out the calculator section, and "what if scenarios."
I did the free 30 day trial, but its not worth it. You get to see your credit score, but it is a big pain to cancel your free trial. Other than that, its a great site.

Hope this helps!