Misguided Credit Score

I am a misguided mama because I have made mistakes-a-plenty. The mistake of the day is my poorly managed credit of my early twenties. Oh, how I thought credit cards were such blessings! In reality, these evil slabs of plastic can ruin your chances for buying your own house, or even simply renting in a nice complex. They can act like your best friend when you don't have the cash to buy another drink at Roland's, but become your worst enemy when you realize you just bought a round of red-headed sluts for the whole bar. You will be paying off these shots in small eight dollar increments for the next 50 years- keep that in mind. Hidden amongst the fine print when applying for these faux-friends are the hefty late fees, the over-limit fees, and the dreaded yearly maintenance fee... because we all know what a pain in the ass it is for our credit card company to maintain our accounts. In fact, I'd like to see a breakdown of the hundred bucks I spend yearly to maintain my account. Does my account at least get a hot stone massage and lavish spa treatment?



When I married my husband, we both had screwed up credit, and it was this screwed up credit that helped us realize how valuable good credit is. We longed for a good credit score. Hell, at least one of us! So we worked on my husbands credit first.



For my husband's Christmas present that year, I paid off one of his accounts that had been in collections. My Christmas card to him went a little something like this:



Dearest Husband,



Should you ever see you ex-girl friend again, please tell her she needs to thank me for the diamond earrings I purchased her back in 2000. I talked the collection agency down to $500 to mark the account paid-in-full. You are now one paid debt closer to a semi-decent credit score.



Thankfully, we both have been able to rehabilitate our credit ratings. The book that helped me and hubby get through all of this chaos is called Managing Debt for Dummies, by John Ventura and Mary Reed. I am a professed Dummy Book and Guide for Idiots reader. I'm not quite sure what that says about me, but if there's a Handbook for the Helpless out there, I'll add my name to the presale list at the local Barnes and Noble, too.