Im 20 years of age and my credit is bad, can i still rebuild it and have good credit?? What should i do?

Question

I dont want to have bad credit cause of my childish actions. Im willing to do what it take to overcome this and start fresh.

Answer 1

How To Repair Your Credit

Start by getting copies of

your credit reports. You

have a right to free reports.

You are allowed one a year

from each of the bureaus:

Annualcreditreport.com,

Transunion, or Equifax.

"Why get a credit report?"

Several people asked.

It describes what needs

repairing. Check off any

information that's incorrect.

Start making telephone calls,

writing letters, or take the

necessary steps to get it

repaired.

Full post at:

Answer 2

Yes, you can start rebuilding your credit.  Start NOW and don't wait any longer.  First thing you need to do is get all your bills together and contact each creditor.  If the debt is in collections, call them to set up a payment plan.  Most of them will offer you a settlement with a reduced amount just to get the debt resolved.  After you have all your bills in order.  Do what I do, keep a log that shows all your bills and when they’re due.  This way you can plan ahead what you’re going to pay with each paycheck.  Keep up with it so that you don’t get lazy about paying your bills again.  Spread your payments out so that you’re not totally broke each payday because you have so many bills to pay.  Make a budget and stick to it!  There is nothing that says you can’t pay your bills early.  Just make sure they’re NEVER late again.  Always pay your bills first before you spend money on anything else.  You can use your credit cards some to help your credit.  It looks very good if you use it to charge something and then pay it off right away.  If you don’t think you can do that responsibly, then try to only use your credit cards if you absolutely have to.  Another thing that affects your credit is applying for more credit.  So as of right now, don’t apply for any new credit cards or loans.  Every time companies check your credit report it shows up and it brings down your score.  

I have previously had horrible credit and fixed it…then screwed it up again.  Don’t do that!  I ended up having to do a bankruptcy (before laws changed thank God) and that will stay with me for a very long time.  Just work really hard to get your bills in order and start getting them paid in a timely manner.  You’ll be thankful you did when you want to buy a new car or buy a house.  Right now I’m back in track, but things are harder to get.  I had a very hard time when I wanted to buy a car.  I wish I could buy a home, but I will have to wait a few years for that bankruptcy to get off my record so that it won’t be so hard.  So try your hardest to get things paid off and bring your credit score up now.    

I’m going to link some sites that can give you some more helpful info.  By the way, I’d stay away from those credit repair companies that charge you out the wazzoo to help you.  You can do things on your own and it won’t cost you a penny.  

Oh one last thing.  You can check your credit report for free once a year.  Go to the site I linked below and get a copy from each of the 3 major credit-reporting agencies.  If you see something on there that doesn’t seem right, contact the creditor and work to get it resolved.  

Good luck!  

Answer 3

Pay off everything as quickly and efficiently as possible, especially collection accounts and accounts you've been late on in the past.

Don't use credit again until you are certain you can pay in full any balances each month.

If you're in school, take out a small loan for your costs and pay it back on time (or early!).  There's almost always a car dealer who will give loans to people with bad credit.  If you can afford the monthly car payments, get a car and pay that on-time or early as well.

Just do all the right things from here on out, it will take a while (probably at least 3-5 years) but you should be able to dig yourself out since you're still young.

Answer 4

It is defiantly possible to rebuild your credit especially at a young age.  I myself went through the same thing.  Contact the people you own money to and see if they will take settlement offers.  Pick one bill at a time to make as many payments as possible on.  Then move on to the next.  The debt may still show on your credit report but it may also show that you have make payments and/or settlements.  Good luck it is hard and taxing but it can be done!

Answer 5

First thing is to stop spending money on stuff you really dont need!

I am just as bad! but credit goes on how well you repay things. Try and make minimum payment on any credit cards you have, tyr and pay all your bills.

Credit reports are built on how you much you have borrowed -

Every company that you borrow from reports to a company like experian, they tell them how you have on credit then every month they report if you have made that months payement on time or not.

If you dont make payement that month a 1 will go against that record if you miss it the next month as well a 2 goes against it and so on untill 6. basicly if that number isnt a 0 its bad news for your credit rateing!

You need to sort out a budget, best way i did it was to make a spreadsheet listing all my accounts and how much i have to pay back. then get the most up to date min monthly payement you have to make on them.

Get the spreadsheet to do some of the math for you, add up those figures to see if they fall in to how much you make a month.

Then add in how you need to live, that means - food, drink, fuel if you have a car, bills. This does NOT inc extra's like new clothes or shoes etc.

Anything left from that pay it on the credit card you owe the LEAST on, try and aim to get that paid off first then work your way up

And one point i owed £15k!

Answer 6

Yes! First you need to get your full credit report from all three credit agencies. After you get this you need to go through it and start making arrangements with all the negative marks on your credit. You can call and pay off in full but never settle for less because this can damage your credit more. You do not  have to give it to them all at once you can make a payment sched. It wont be fixed over night but if you are patient in about 6months to a year you will bring your credit up.

P.S.

While doing this DO NOT OPEN ANY NEW CREDIT ACCOUNTS!

Answer 7

In order to re build your line of credit you must pay off all outstanding loans.  Then you must prove that you can carry a debt load for a term.  If you manage to get a loan for $500.00 try and make each monthly payment, do NOT pay off the loan as soon as you have the means, it will NOT apply to your line of credit!  Only structured monthly payments make a difference.  If your unable to get a bank loan start by applying for department store credit cards.  Spend as much as you can afford to pay then put the card away and do not use it again.  Make the monthly payments on time till the amount is paid off then bring up the balance again.  Then pay it off again.  After you’ve accomplished that a couple of time apply for a VISA or MasterCard with a $1000.00 limited and repeat the process.  It takes some time to re establish your credit rating but it can be done.  

Answer 8

how bad we talking?

try listening to this guy Dave Ramsey, he has free podcasts on iTunes. Also has a book called Financial Peace Revisited. He has a common sense style of dealing with personal finance and getting debt under control.

I wouldn't worry too much about fixing your credit. Fixing your credit only leads to more borrowing, because it just "fixes" your eligibility to be loaned money. But if you're really sincere about starting over you should be wanting to go into a lifestyle that doesn't need to use credit cards or borrow money.

1. Learn how to make a budget.

2. Spend less than you make.

3. Save for the things you want to buy. Learn to delay gratification. (You don't "need" everything NOW!-save for it.)

Answer 9

first, you need to say how much you owe your creditors. I'm in the same boat as you. I took the first step to repair my credit. honestly repay what i owe. It might hurt to give up all the money at once, but in the long run it will help you. The bills will never go away and interest is rocking them up  each month you decide not to pay. Interest is what get you not the actually bill owed. My advice take it or leave it' PAY THE BILLS OFF HOWEVER WAY YOU CAN' work a extra job, or do some overtime.

Answer 10

Yes it takes time but in seven years for bad credit to go away so your kind of stuck u have to wait in the mean time start to rebuild it by making payments on time and also paying them off like making more than the more than a minimum payment on your cards. for now thats all you can do.What not to do it try to pay someone to help u rebuild your credit its a waste of money that you should use to rebuild the credit.