Selfpay Financing- How to begin

Since I started my WLS journey I have been reading as much as I can on the boards. I am planning on going to Mexico in May the day after I finish college. I really appreciate all the personal stories that have been shared. It makes me feel perfectly confident in my decisions and what to expect from the surgery.   I have nothing to contribute to the boards right now except for information for the many posters who have questions about self pay and financing- I have read many, many posts from people who apply for the financing with no real idea what their credit score is or how that will affect their rate.  Most times, they doubt they will even get approved. It should not be a mystery when you apply. Your question should be "My  FICO score is XXX, what rate can I expect to get?     Before doing anything, pull your credit yourself. Get your annual free credit reports and look for derogatory or incorrect entries- If you don't find mistakes you are not reading them right". Get all 3. Compare. One report can be right while another is wrong. If everything looks good- pay the money to get your REAL FICO scores- you need to know where you stand. If you have good scores, you would probably be better off going through your bank or credit union. Maybe a major bank card if the intro rate is acceptable- just read the fine print. If you have cleaning up to do, it's not worth paying for your FICOs yet. If you have incorrect or derogatory information- clean them up- there are dispute systems in place that you can use with the credit reporting agencies TransUnion, Equifax, Experian. There are dispute systems in place where you can get damaging information removed from your reports. You have federal law on your side. There are a several boards  on credit repair and improvement with people just as caring and knowledgeable as the posters you find here. There are some boards where you will get incomplete or incorrect answers. After a little research, and reading, you will be able to tell the difference. Serious credit repair is not a sprint, it's a marathon. If you have been denied financing because of your credit score, it can be improved. YOU have control over your score.  You have made the decision to take control of your weight and your health. This was an incredibly brave decision to make. You did the homework, researched the procedure, the doc, the facility. Unfortunately, money and credit can be as emotionally charged as weight issues. People don't want to talk about money, or financing, or credit- especially if the credit is bad. OH is a community of people who understand weight issues and support you without judgement.  There are other communities out there that will help with credit repair, without judging you. This is just one more step in your journey. And like weight loss- a good credit score is a beautiful thing that will improve your life for years to come. I would be happy to help anyone who has questions on how to get started. I can't  and won't do it for you. I don't give financial advice, nothing is for sale. I'm just "paying forward" kindnesses done to me.

Well said and great info , I was in Automotive finance in NY/CT for 20 years and now in real estate in NC. I will tell anyone I know, you are better off giving someone a kidney then you are cosigning for them. You credit is the most import thing in your life, it can raise your insurance, lose you a job, ruin your character and keep you down for the rest of your like. You siad it all taking control of your weight now take control of your finances

And- there are ways to maximize good/fair credit scores to get better loan rates-    3-6 months BEFORE you apply for financing- make sure you are making all payments on time /check your reports to make sure they are reporting correctly and keep your credit card usage rate under 30% of the limit-   and always pay a few dollars more than the minimum payment.