Congrats on your settlements!
I am new to this credit thing and I am in the process of trying to pay some of my charge-off's as well...It certainly feels good to make progress towards a better FICO score!!
I think your score should go up at least a few points...I mean you are paying quite a bit of debt off and if those are the only 2 charge-off's you have then it should be a great help to your score. But as i said i am a newbie so i could be wrong
Ms. Meya has great wisdom on these things I can't wait to read her thoughts
I made a settlement offer to pay off one of my 6 collection accounts this month...I am paying $200 on a $400 phone bill from 2003 (I know...silly of me to let it go that far for such a small amount : ) that I am paying TODAY. YEA!!
Good luck and let us know how your score looks!

I just paid settlements on 2 charge-offs. I paid $1350 on an old MBNA account (noew BoA) thats blance was $2,800 and $1,100 on a GE/Paypal Credit account that's balance was $2,400. I think these were pretty good/fair settlements. I made sure that I got all settlement offers in writing, and sent all setlements along with the letters via certified mail. The creditors I talked to were very nice to me (lol I guess because i told them that I wanted to pay in full).

I'm pretty sure that both accounts were at the point that they were going to file for a judgement against me very soon. I had a judgement filed dagainst me 6 years ago, so I'm kind of familiar with the progression.

These are the only charge-offs that I had. Do you think the fact that I paid them will help my credit score at all? I've got a feeling that it won't do much, but I'm crossing my fingers. I plan on filing disputes on my report again in a week or 2. I hear that if you paid them many creditors will just ignore the credit agency's request and let if fall off your report - I guess it's worth a shot.

What do you guys think? Think my score might get a punch in the arm?

Congratulations on getting that far towards your goals so young, ladyd! You have all the first steps done. I would also advise a financial planner as your next step. He/she would help you set more goals and diversify as you go.
Real Estate, in my opinion, is always a good idea. Even when the market is down, you can get a growth, if you stay long term.

A financial advisor is a good idea. But when you're picking somebody, make sure it's somebody who is independent and fee-based. That means they charge you a fee for the advice, but they're not working with some investment company which pays them a commission for pushing you into certain kinds of investments.

Best advice ladyd is to take everyone's advice with a pinch of salt that's not a qualified financial advisor. Investing your savings is just too important to not use a professional. You could try your bank first of all and see if they have a personal financial advisor in the branch you can make an appointment with and then go from there if you feel comfortable with them.

Since being turned down by Cap1 and Hsbc/Orchard because of my low fico score. I have been approved for this credit card. Now i know the fee's on this card sucks. But how long should i keep this card before re - applying for cap 1 and Orchard?. It's better than having nothing and what would be the best way of utilizing this credit card. Maybe charging $10 - 40 a month?

Hi lmartin, we developed a new program that will hopefully pick up soon. You can view other member results at: https://www.financeglobe.com/Finance/credit-card-status.shtml

Paula,
Thanks for the info. Do you know what credit bureau Hooters pulls. My TU is the strongest score. Any thoughts on which Credit Cards use TU as their primary pull?
Thanks again!

Hi Gang,

Do you know what creditors pull from Experian, that's my highest fico score. Thanks for any info you can provide. : )

I think you should consult a financial advisor. You want to make sound decisions. I know an IRA is a sure thing. Not sure about anything else at this time.

Yes that is correct, they can drop as much as 8-15 depending on who pulled it. I have had a 15 took from me last year and I was ticked off.
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Here is a great link for inquiries
https://www.financeglobe.com/SocialNet/resources/httpwwwbrokencreditcomp44

The only thing I would really watch for is the amount of inquiries you have on your credit report as this does effect the credit score. If you are not approved it would possibly lower your credit score because they checked your credit.

You should have a balanced portfolio so has to achieve moderate returns at moderate risk (probably the most appropriate investiment strategy for retirement). I would recommend a combination of blue chip stocks, small caps, bonds and mutual funds.

Adicus you got a great deal. In which city of CA is your property located in?

The second home that I own...is a FOURPLEX. I bought it around August of last year for $201k from real estate investors out in California. I was real nervous about finding the right tenants and on call maintenance person. In all honesty since the "whole" real estate crash........all my units are full and after everything is said and done I have a positive cash flow of $800 a month. Not bad so far, but in order to get a real handsome return, keep the property for at least 7 years. Real Estate will always make money regardless of the economy, consider a multi-unit property; after all we all have rented or even still rent right? Well, that could be you collecting the rent on 5 of the month. I forgot to mention that the mortgage on the property is not due till the 16th of every month so if your tenants get behind, you can extend additional days. My friend’s criticize me for not charging a late fee, but I'm not in the business of collecting fee; I will leave that to the banks.

Well I think the safest and effective way of investing you money is to buy bonds or saving certificates. They sure have very low amount of monthly profit but if you are investing a good amount then it will prove to be great for long term investment.