$624,456.79

 

Let me say that again, six hundred twenty-four thousand, four hundred and six dollars and seventy-nine cents – we can’t forget a single penny here. This is just my number at the time of writing this post too. Every day this number is growing and unfortunately, no, this isn’t my savings account. We really want to move forward with our lives. But between planning our wedding to buying our forever home, our low credit score is affecting our options. We’re currently on a journey to repairing our credit scores.

My Personal Experience on Getting into Debt

 

Like most people, getting a university degree was very important to me, and to my parents. At 17, I applied to some of the best schools, dreaming of getting accepted. Thankfully I did, but not to the school around the corner from home – it was to a school several hours away and in a big downtown city, Toronto. I was going to be starting a new life, going to school, and basically making it on my own before I was even a legal adult. While in high school, I was working 3 jobs at minimum wage trying to save up for school. I saved enough to pay for first and last rent on my new apartment, the first payment of tuition, a metro card, all while having a little bit left over.

 

On my first day of school, I quickly learned that the little bit that I had, was NOWHERE near what I would need to make it through to my degree. I headed over to the financial services department who referred me to a local bank that was offering student loans. I think one of the worst things I ever did was to get that student loan. While I only needed about $8000 to pay for the rest of the year, they offered me double – and of course, I took it. I was spending less time working and taking more from my student loan to pay for the things I needed.

Halfway through school, I received a work opportunity that I couldn’t pass up, and I decided to drop out. About 2 months into this opportunity, and I found out that I was pregnant with my son, Logan. After hearing about my pregnancy, they decided to let me go. At this point, I have no job, no savings, about $16000 in student loan debt, and a baby. While our family was growing we needed a few things to accommodate us, like a house and new SUV – Which together totaled over $500,000. We bought the first, most affordable condo that we could find and moved right in.

Being so unhappy at work, my fiancée Brandon, felt like it was time for a change. He also left his job and we decided to pursue a new venture together. Being our own boss was something that we always wanted to do, and there was no better time than the present. Since we were relying on ourselves now, we didn’t have anything to fall back on. With only a few thousand saved, we ran through it quickly. At this point, we began to rely heavily on credit cards. Between Brandon and I, we were offered a credit of about $50000 in various cards.

Over the past two years, my time was spent being a stay at home mom. Having a baby is expensive. Between diapers, clothing, toys, food, along with all of our own personal expenses, we wracked on another $5000. We were relying solely on Brandon’s new business’ income, like with any startup was small. To make a little money on the side, I started blogging and selling some handmade items online. Between my small income and government subsidies for children, I was now able to meet the minimum payments on my student loan and for my credit cards.

 

Things That Cost More Than You Think

• Education
• Moving
• Buying a House
• New Cars
• Babies
• Starting a Business
• Starting a Blog

 

Fast forward to today, I’m a mother of one, soon to be wife to my husband, condo and car owner, and yes, drowning in debt. Life is expensive – what the heck! I think I’ve had some of the most expensive last 4 years that anyone could possibly have. Not to mention, the next few years aren’t going to get any cheaper. But after all the years of debt I’ve incurred, sometimes I haven’t been able to meet the minimum payments. We now have several different directions our money is being pulled to – student loans, credit cards, mortgages, car financing. We really need to get ahold of our finances and improve our credit score.

 

Things That Negatively Affect Your Credit Score

• Payment Activity – slowly paying off credit cards, student loans, mortgages, etc.
• Amount of Debt – how much debt you have and the different areas it comes from
• Credit Age/History – how long have you had a debt/been in repayment
• Credit Inquiries – how often an inquiry has been made on your credit score (for example, when applying for a new credit card, the credit card company inquires on your credit score)

I’m sure you can guess that because of our history, our credit scores aren’t the highest (mine especially). We’re currently planning our wedding (the most expensive day anyone can ever have) along with looking for our forever home. Living in a condo isn’t ideal and we need more space for our growing family. Because we’re looking to buy this home together, we both need to have higher credit scores to even be considered for a new mortgage or home buyers loan.

This week, I had my first consolation with Lexington Law Firm to get started on digging myself out of debt. Lexington Law Firm believes that everyone has a right to a fair, accurate, and substantiated credit report. Every year families are denied mortgages and home buying loans because of their credit scores. Something as small as a late payment or a critical mark from a credit reporter can leave an error on your credit score. These types of errors can take up to four months to improve and are consequently continuously negatively affecting Americans credit ratings (some can last up to 7 years!). For that reason, Lexington Law Firm offers its clients the power of knowledge by sharing important tips and ideas for credit repair.

Taking a Step Towards Better Credit

For other’s who need a major credit score repair, I suggest Lexington Law Firm. They are a team of lawyers that have spearheaded the credit repair industry. By standing up for consumers, they are offering their credit repair legal knowledge along with a deep knowledge of consumer protection laws, and know how to leverage them for the consumer’s benefit. It’s an amazing feeling to be in the hands of legal professionals that are willing to fight for my rights. Call 1-855-532-6973 or visit LexingtonLaw.com to get:

• FREE personalized credit consultation
• FREE access to your TransUnion report summary
• FREE credit report review and suggested solutions

Their packages start as low as $24.95 a month and include everything you need to start your credit repair journey.

 

My Personal Solution to Repairing My Credit

 

I met with one of the credit professionals from Lexington Law Firm early last week to discuss my options for repairing my credit score. We really want to move forward with buying a home, but it feels impossible with my low credit score. One of the biggest problems I have is that my minimum payments aren’t even covering the cost of the interest. It kind of feels like I’m throwing a cup of water into a burning building. After reviewing my TransUnion report summary, Lexington Law Firm offered me a few suggestions to repair my credit score that I’d like to share with you:

• Don’t move debt around – instead of transferring monies and debt from one account to another, start focusing on paying it off instead. While we can get annoyed at the interest rates or fees, it’s better to just pay it off and get it out of the way.
• Pay bills on time – set reminders in your schedule of payment due dates for every loan/account and be sure to make AT LEAST the minimum payment before that date.
• Reduce the debt – take a step back from eating out and other little luxuries for a bit. Take that saved money and use it to pay off the debt. By being frugal for a few months, you can start to repair your credit score.

 

Are you taking steps to improve your credit score?