The Ins and Outs of Personal Credit

My personal credit has been, for some time, a personal nightmare. I've been slowly building up my said credibility but man, if you choose to deal 100% in cash and don't feel like selling your soul for a used car (what? $400 a month is too much for you? meh...) you aren't getting any brownie points from corporate America.

I can attribute my shitty personal credit to loads of shitty personal finance decisions as a 25 and under consumer. Having "seen the light" concerning finances, but making under 30K a year, my ability to clean up said credit is extremely limited. I have spent the past three years ensuring that I am in no one's debt, but that simply is not enough in the corporate credit arena. I also need to establish debt and show that I can be a compliant debtor, making those monthly payments by the letter on the date indicated by the money giants such as HSBC.

As of yet, I have not taken that step. Not because I lack the desire to see a credit score on the climb (and above the 500's range), but because the offers I receive for credit are in general, RIDICULOUS. Why would I want a credit card with a $300 limit that is accompanied by an 89 dollar annual fee, a 119 dollar origination fee, and a 17.95 montly fee. WTF? Who would agree to this? What planet do I seem to originate from? IAMASUCKER planet?

Recently I have been receiving offers of credit that border less on ridiculous and more on "perhaps reasonable". So what did I do today? I applied for and was approved for a credit card with a moderate credit limit, plain old variable interest rate, and a "reasonable" ANNUAL (not monthly) fee. I decided that now is the time to invest in my credit, and hopefully, a subsequent credit score increase. We'll see how that works out. But really, as I near thirty, it is exciting to be achieving new levels of financial independence and clearing all those seemingly unreachable peaks of credit-worthiness. So anyhow, heres to HSBC and all that money I will never pay them (such as over-limit fees, late fees.....)

As a side note, I bought a brand spanking new treadmill yesterday (or rather put down 400 dollars!) It is awesome, folds up, is not cheapo bottom of the line, but just nice enough to meet my needs. I took a jog on it, and even had my glucose tabs, glucometer, lancing device, and test strips all out in the "drink holders" to see if it jived during the run. It is nice, good for me, and it will mean that I will have the capabilities to run again! Running is such a part of my spirit. Since the time of Gracie's and Sandis's diagnoses, I haven't had the capabilities to run like I used to before. The only time I really can is around 5 or 5:30am and I don't feel safe leaving the kids alone at home and me out on my own in the darkened roads. So this treadmill is huge, HUGE, HUGE!!!! I spent around 900 bucks and I am excited about its arrival when I finish paying for it next weekend (although I somewhat mourn my laziness pending its arrival). I'll put up pictures when it gets here!