Hey y'all! I have been following this page for a little while and am finally in a place to start making some financial plans.Hey y'all! I have been following this page for a little while and am finally in a place to start making some financial plans. I don't have very much bad debt. (I have student loans, but am still in school and not in default). My bad debt is about $5000. And the collection agencies have made offers to settle for significantly less. I am paying for a divorce right now which is costing half my monthly income, but will be paid off in two months. I live with my mom while I am getting back on my feet, so my only bills right now are my phone and car insurance. I have also put away $1, 000 in an emergency fund. But I have a few questions, actually several, about a few different things so please bear with me. My goal is to be debt free by the end of the year. I think this is a reasonable goal considering the amount of debt I have. 1. I have pulled my credit report from the three major credit bureaus so I could figure out who I owed money to. One of my friends who works in finance said that, when u pay off a creditor, you want them to delete the debt instead of listing it as "collection paid". How do I go about guaranteeing that they do this? 2. My boyfriend and I are looking at getting land and putting a house on it. I'm leaning more toward starting with a tiny home or an unconventional house (quonset hut, kit home etc. ) to save money. The problem is my credit is bad right now and I know it takes a while for it to improve after debt is paid off. Really, with this, I need advice, opinions, anything. We aren't looking to buy this year. We are looking at possibly 2021 and I'm wanting to prepare as best as I can. 3. How long did it take for your credit score to improve after paying off debt? What are ways that I can give my score a boost after my debt is paid? 4. How can I check my credit score without it hurting my score? I'm sure I will think of more questions. I have never even thought of getting land and a house so I have zero idea of where to start. Any advice is appreciated. Thank you!
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