Of Credit and such

[epiphanyinblue]

Someone in my family used my information to get an apartment, cable, and other bills in my name. Then they went on to not pay the bills on time and basically ran up nearly $4k in rent alone, $800 for the cable bill, and about $400 in the utilities I know of. This started when I was fifteen years old, so I had bad credit out the gate.

With no clue about this, I went on to apply for college loans to bridge the gap between my financial aid and scholarships. When the scholarships fell through, I didn't understand it. I dropped out of school because it was difficult to pay $5k between a semester and have no place to live. I learned about "my horrible credit" after looking at my credit report. I don't know how, but I was able to fight the charges on my account without getting a statement by the police. Someone in my family used my information to get an apartment, cable, and other bills in my name. Then they went on to not pay the bills on time and basically ran up nearly $4k in rent alone, $800 for the cable bill, and about $400 in the utilities I know of. This started when I was fifteen years old, so I had bad credit out the gate.

With no clue about this, I went on to apply for college loans to bridge the gap between my financial aid and scholarships. When the scholarships fell through, I didn't understand it. I dropped out of school because it was difficult to pay $5k between a semester and have no place to live. I learned about "my horrible credit" after looking at my credit report. I don't know how, but I was able to fight the charges on my account without getting a statement by the police. (The age on the renter profile said I was 31 or 51 years old, but the collection agency who bought the debt believed me when I was able to verify my age. I guess the get a lot of people renting under a minor's identity.) I was forced to move my mother's home that I hadn't lived in since I was 10 years old. Old emotional scars remain even though things are a little bit better now between us.

After six years of tears, disappointment, and depression, the only debt on my credit report are current student loans that are deterred until six months after graduating. I was able to open an account for a Macy's Credit Card. I use it once a month to get things I'll probably need (dress shoes, a blouse for an interview, and other job stuff when I switch jobs). I also pay it off well before the due date. My credit limit with Macy's has gone from $799 to $999. I just applied for a college credit card from my bank with whom I just recently had an accidental overdraft. (Didn't know I had overdraft protection, so I just revoked it. It killed my checking account and drained my savings account.) Other than that snafu  my record with them is really great. I use direct deposit as well as online bill pay, so they know I make sure to pay my bills on time.

I'm glad that right before my 25th birthday it seems like my nightmare is over. Most of my gloomy lj posts were a side effect of that taking a hold on me. A couple of years ago, I decided not to be bitter about it and take it as a learning experience. That's all that I can do. Now it's time for me to save my money like a fiend (I've been doing this, but I'm buckling down even more.), get out of the occasional funk about how my life is still not what I expected nearly seven years ago, and find an affordable place (and a roomie or three to share with.).

For the first time, in a long one, I feel as hopeful and anxious about life as I did back when I started college. I can finally exhale.  =^_^=