Self - Credit Builder & Cards

I was skeptical with so many scams out there these days but I tried it and it is exactly what it says it is. I had not financed anything for several years so I just needed something small to jumpstart my credit score and as soon as my 1st payment posted my score jumped from 533 to 601..... Of course they make a little money from the initial sign up fee and interest for as long as you keep it open but that is normal for any legitimate business, besides if it was free then there would probably be a hidden scam involved somewhere not visible to the normal person. For me it’s a small price to pay and it’s worth it if you need something positive on your credit. It works exactly like getting a signature loan in person at a bank, the only difference is that you don’t get the money your borrowing until after you pay the loan payments. After you make each payment the amount of your payment (minus a little interest) is added to the available cash balance in the account which belongs to you and you can request to get that money anytime you want or need it. However if at anytime prior to the full 24 months you do need to request to get your money from the account, that does cancel and/or close the loan out at that time without any penalties or any negative marks on your credit, it just simply closes out the loan and will be reported on your credit as loan closed and paid in full along with the length of time you had the loan opened. That’s my 2 cents worth. Lol Kudos to the developers, great idea. Thanks from Cris in Alabama

Let me start by saying that I am 36 years old and this is the first time that I see light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to my credit score. I was extremely irresponsible in my 20’s. As soon as I turned 18 I applied and was approved for a couple of department store cards that I managed to rack up hefty balances on and never paid. I worked and paid my rent on time, but all of my other I paid late or not at all. I also had about $18,000 in student loans and about $6000 in hospital bills. Even though I was single and in debt, I became pregnant and gave birth to my beautiful daughter at 21. After she was born, I worked paycheck to paycheck to cover rent, daycare, basic utilities, and whatever my daughter needed. I gave up all hope of paying overdue bills and having good credit. I didn’t check my credit score for 8 years. Fast forward to my daughters 15th birthday and the realization that she would be getting her license and going off to college soon I decided I had better get my but in gear so she could have a good start at life. I checked my credit and began paying off derogatory marks.A lot of what I owed was too old to still be on my credit report. To make a really long story shorter, I had no credit at 36. I began using SELF and after just two payments, my credit score went from 0 to 600. I know that’s not a good score, but it is a start to a much more responsible life. This program has given me hope and inspiration to be a better role model for my daughter so that she doesn’t make the same mistakes I have.

This is a great service if you are trying to repair your credit and have already made the changes in your behavior to do so. Nothing comes free. You have to make your payments on time, and you are essentially letting them hold your money in a way. However, for me this has been extremely helpful in accelerating the process of repairing my credit. I have gone up 157 points in a year. Now, not all of that is accredited to this app but it definitely helped. It can essentially add two positive accounts, helping your credit in two important ways; on time payments and debt to credit ratio. Once you sign up and make a couple of payment on time, they generally will offer you a credit card secured by the money you have already paid. This is extremely helpful because if you are looking to use this app, it’s somewhat likely that you can’t get much credit right now. I put a small recurring charge (Netflix) on the card and paid it monthly to help as well. In the meantime, I disputed derogatory marks on my credit and got some of them off. Half way through because of the increases, I was offered a card with a different bank that helped as well. Now, if I want, I can do other things to help my credit further like finance a car, etc. All of these things though, only work if you have already changed the behaviors that got you into trouble in the first place. Otherwise you’ll just miss payments and run up the card and hurt your credit further. If you have made the changes and just need a chance to prove it, this is perfect.