: Rebuilding my credit I am trying to rebuild my credit following a bankruptcy. I have attained a secured credit card. Is it best to pay any balance before I receive a statement? Or should I wait until I receive the statement

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It's always best to pay most of the balance off before the statement closes and leave a small balance to report in order to show activity (on one card - additional cards should show no balance)). But TBH, at this point its far more important to simply keep the account in good standing while your credit recovers.

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A good credit score considers multiple factors. Usually, the two most heavily weighted factors are number of on-time payments, and percentage of available credit used. So for a good score you want to make sure you never miss any payments. The second factor requires a little more finesse. 0% utilization is actually less helpful than say 1-4% utilization, because to the scoring model it looks as though you're not even using your available credit (so there's no way to tell if you're using it "responsibly"). The utilization percentage is calculated based on the amount shown on your statement compared to your limit.

For example, if you have a 00 limit and you have used 00 -

If you pay in full before receiving your statement, your utilization will be 0%
If you wait for your statement, then pay in full, your utilization will be 20%
If you pay 0 now, wait for a statement balance of 0, then pay it off in full, your utilization will be 2%

However much you decide to let show up on your statement, be sure to pay off all of it during the grace period, so you don't end up paying any interest.

The other thing to consider is whether you actually need a good credit score. If you think you'll be applying for a mortgage in the future, then improving your score is a good idea. However, if this is less likely, then it may be financially safer to forget about your score and just keep credit use to a minimum or eliminate it entirely, to reduce the risk of ending up underwater again.