Thinking about finally getting serious about buying a home, but my credit score is um...not exactly stellar, lol. Quick poll: did you guys focus more on paying down debt first or building new credit lines? Curious what worked better for everyone.
When I was getting ready to buy my first place, my credit was pretty rough too—thanks mostly to some dumb decisions in college. I initially thought opening new credit lines would help, but honestly, paying down existing debt made a bigger difference for me. It wasn't overnight, but after about 6-8 months of consistently knocking down balances, my score started climbing steadily. Plus, lenders seemed to appreciate seeing lower debt-to-income ratios more than just new credit accounts. Just my two cents from personal experience...
Had a similar experience—thought opening another card would boost my score, but it barely budged. Instead, I focused on paying off my smallest debts first (snowball method?), and after a few months, things started looking way better. Lenders definitely seemed happier seeing less debt overall.
Totally agree with tackling smaller debts first—it's like cleaning your room by starting with the sock drawer. Feels manageable, and before you know it, you're motivated enough to tackle the closet (or in this case, bigger debts). One thing I'd add is keeping an eye on your credit utilization ratio. Paying down balances helps, but if you're still maxing out cards—even temporarily—it can hold your score back. I learned this the hard way when I paid off a bunch of small debts but kept using one card heavily for rewards points. My score barely moved until I started keeping balances below 30% of my limits consistently. Also, don't underestimate the power of checking your credit report regularly. Found a random medical bill error once that was dragging me down... took a few phone calls, but clearing that up gave me a nice little boost.
Good points here, especially about utilization—though I'd argue even 30% might be pushing it. I've seen clients get stuck at that mark. Personally, keeping balances under 10% made a noticeable difference. And yeah, medical errors are sneaky... always worth double-checking those reports.
