Recent content by Emma Thompson

I know it sounds dumb, but don’t close those credit cards when you pay them off. Keeping them open helps your utilization ratio and your average account age. Close them and your score tanks further. Just lock them away in a drawer if you’re worried about using them.

Honestly, this whole system feels dumb. Like why penalize people who are paying everything off? It’s just a timing game. I started doing what people here suggest........splitting payments, so I never let the balance hit more than 20% of my limit when the statement cuts. My score went up 60...

Honestly, I’d say stop checking Credit Karma. It’s like stepping on the scale every hour when you’re on a diet. Just making yourself miserable. Pull your real FICO maybe twice a year. Focus on living life, not chasing numbers you can’t change yet.

I feel like the AA card only makes sense if you’re targeting Loyalty Points for elite status. Every dollar spend = Loyalty Point. If that’s your jam, then maybe utilities on AA makes sense. Otherwise, UR system wins.

I actually got approved 6 months after my repo. The catch? It was a predatory dealer, 24% interest, and the car died in a year. Honestly, I wish I’d waited. Looking back, if you’re not desperate, hold off and keep stacking cash. Repo sucks, but it’s not the end of the world.

Be careful with the sock drawer method though. Some banks will shut cards down for inactivity, and it can happen without warning. Happened to me with Citi. If you want to keep them open, put one small charge on them every few months so the account stays active.

Honestly, most of the manuals you’ll find are less about education and more about funneling you into the author’s $2,000 mentorship. They give you crumbs, then push the upsell. Super annoying.

As a freelancer, I like separating types of expenses. I’ve got one card for subscriptions (Adobe, hosting, etc.), one card for equipment, and one for travel/food. It makes tax time way easier because I just download each statement and hand them to my accountant. Three feels like the sweet spot.

The hard inquiry thing is what I’d be careful with. If you’re thinking of applying for a mortgage soon, you don’t want like 10 inquiries showing up. Space them out or just stop altogether once you’re within 6–12 months of applying.

Yep. Happened to me during Black Friday 2023. Hard pull on Experian. Score went back up in like 3 months though.

I had three secured cards when I was rebuilding, and it worked for me. But I also had no other open accounts, so I needed the extra trade lines. If you already have other active accounts (like a student loan or car loan), you might not need more than one secured card to get the mix you need.

I had a similar situation with Discover and they fixed it instantly when I called. Credit One? Nah. They just read me the script about how accurate reporting is their policy. You could tell the rep had zero authority to do anything.

My mom got burned by one of these. Paid $99/month for a year and literally nothing changed on her credit report. When she asked for proof of work, they sent her generic dispute letters with her name swapped in. She could’ve done that with a Google search.

My first apartment out of college? No credit history at all. The landlord let me rent because my mom cosigned. Honestly, without her, I do not think they would have taken me. Cosigners are a huge help, especially if they have solid credit and income.

If you go for it, keep in mind the dealer may suggest a pull-ahead program down the road. Those are sometimes decent if you lease again with the same brand, but read the fine print......they often just bury leftover payments into the new deal.