I may break Kindles, but I CAN fix your bad credit

February 17, 2021 // ISSUE #81

Hi y’all —

Whenever I buy an ebook on Amazon, I’m confronted with a choice. Upon checking out, a drop-down window asks me to select which device it should deliver the book to. The options are as follows: Julia’s Kindle, Julia’s 2nd Kindle or Julia’s 3rd Kindle.

Are you noticing a pattern? Are you rolling your eyes? Are you wondering to yourself how could one girl, even one who reads as much as I do, could possibly need so many Kindles?

Well, my butt is to blame. My first Kindle, a Christmas gift I received in 11th grade, met its untimely end in college when I accidentally sat on it, shattering the screen. So I got another one. Chastened, I put the device in a case and took extra-special care to protect it… until a few years later, when I somehow sat on THAT one, too. Cue third Kindle.

The thing is, I don’t know how to repair a Kindle. Once it’s broken, I pretty much have to purchase a new one. There’s no solution.

It’s not like a credit score, which I know is a fluid number that can change over time depending on my financial situation. But come to think of it, now that I’ve typed out the comparison, I’m not actually sure about the mechanics of fixing that, either.

I can’t be useless at Kindle and credit repair. I need to learn: How can I fix bad credit? Can I do it myself?

I called Howard Dvorkin, chairman at Debt.com, to ask for tips. He reminded me that credit scores matter because lenders use them to measure how risky it is to take me on as a customer. Their thinking is that if my score is solid, I probably have a history of making on-time payments. I’ll probably be a responsible borrower.

Unfortunately, lenders often assume the flip side is true, too.

"There's a lot of life milestones you have to go through [that involve credit]," Dvorkin says. "You need to secure a home loan, a car payment, better insurance rates, possibly a job — either you're going to see a hurdle that you have to get over and explain, or it could cost you more."

According to Equifax, anything between 580 and 669 is "fair," while scores between 670 and 739 are "good." Falling between 740 and 799 is "very good." Over 800 is "excellent."

My credit score is so bad, it's featuring Pitbull.

Scores are generally based on five major factors: payment history, amounts owed, length of credit history, credit mix and new credit. Bad habits and errors can sink it, which is why it's recommended that I monitor what's on my credit reports.

Normally, I’m entitled to request one free credit report from each of the three bureaus every 12 months. Recently, though, the rules changed. Due to the pandemic, Americans can access free weekly reports online through April. And because of the 2017 Equifax data breach, I can get seven free Equifax credit reports a year through 2026. I just need to go to annualcreditreport.com.

Once I’ve pulled my report, I’ll want to make sure everything that appears is correct. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, common credit report errors include closed accounts being shown as open, debts that appear multiple times and wrong balances.

If I spot a mistake, I’ll want to dispute it by writing a letter to the bureau as well as the business that reported the inaccurate information. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the bureau has 30 days to look into the disputed items and reply to me. If the item is indeed found to be inaccurate, the business will correct it, and the bureau will provide corrected reports to entities that recently pulled them.

Unfortunately, if the data is true, I don't really have a leg to stand on. Negative information stays on my credit report for about seven years. Bankruptcy data sticks around for a decade.

Speaking of negative information, that’s step two. I’ll want to look over my credit report for any bills due or accounts I might have forgotten about. I should verify the statutes of limitations on my debts haven't run out and pay attention to any accounts in collection.

"You've got to get those paid in full as quickly as possible to increase your score, because they're just going to sit out there until you do it," says Linda Jacob, director of education at Consumer Credit of Des Moines.

From there, it’s all about good habits. Payment history makes up 35% of my credit score, so it's critical to address late payments and make plans for the future. I should make it a priority to start paying on time, and I should endeavor to keep my credit utilization ratio under 30%.

If this sounds like a lot of work, that’s because it is. If I’m willing to pay, there are legit companies that will handle the labor for me (Money has a list here). But I can also handle it myself.

"If you're in rebuilding-credit mode where every dollar is presumably precious, why pay for something you can do on your own?" says Martin Lynch, director of education at Cambridge Credit Counseling.

A better option might be seeking out an accredited counselor via the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education, the Financial Counseling Association of America or the National Foundation for Credit Counseling.

THE BOTTOM LINE

(but please don't tell me you scrolled past all of my hard work)

Repairing credit takes a long time and a lot of elbow grease. It may take months or years for me to raise my credit, but — unlike with a Kindle — it is feasible.

“You need to know how to do this stuff,” Lynch says. “It’s part of regaining control of your finances.”

via GIPHY

RECEIPT OF THE WEEK

via Instagram

Singer Phoebe Bridgers recently put on a delightful Saturday Night Live performance, complete with a rockstar-style guitar smash. Viewers got weirdly mad about it, but the guitar only cost $85. Not to mention that Bridgers said she gave the guitar makers a heads up beforehand, and “they wished me luck and told me they’re hard to break.” My take? Bridgers is a badass, and I don’t get why critics feel the need to punisher.

INTERNET GOLD

five things I'm loving online right now

1	Love this 1908 New York Times story exposing a dog for being a fake hero who “pushes children into the Seine to rescue them and win beefsteaks.” To quote Anchorman, I'm not even mad. That's amazing.
2	In other Weird Internet news, here’s a Google Sheet that chronicles one man’s mission to AirDrop images to random people on the subway in 2019. He kept track of what he sent versus what he received, and the results are… odd. Some pictures are hilarious, some are offbeat and some are straight-up profane, but they all make me miss commuting. Scroll through at your own risk.
3	I don’t even remember what I was looking up when I came across these articles, but did you guys know that butterfly farming is a thing? This fact particularly amazed me: “A single butterfly can cost anywhere from 75 cents to $7 on the wholesale market, depending on the time of year and species.”
4	Salamander in snow.
5	Letter of recommendation for this salted brown butter chocolate chip cookie bar recipe. I threw in a few chopped-up Heath bars, which really took them to the next level, and I can’t emphasize enough how perfect the Maldon salt on top is. Who’s hungry?

401(K)ITTY CONTRIBUTION

send me cute pictures of your pets, please

via Roy Roddey

Meet Johnny and Frankie, who are clawing their way back to an 850 credit score after their report mistakenly listed them as dogs.

See you next week.

Julia

P.S. How’s your credit score? Have you ever broken something with your butt? What’s your favorite cookie recipe? Send notes — but not fragile Kindles — to julia.glum@money.com or @SuperJulia on Twitter.

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I may break Kindles, but I CAN fix your bad credit

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