My credit rating is shot right now because I used my credit cards for a balance transfer to help me pay off a large balance.

I could have left it where it was and paid it off as I was able. However, it's faster to pay it off on a live account as I can reuse the credit if needed, which I couldn't do on the account that had the balance.

For a while, I bought into the promise of debt consolidation loans, which are installment loans. The problem with those is that you are on the hook for a fixed monthly payment no matter what. Once you make the payment, that money is gone. On a card, on the other hand, once you make the payment, you have credit in case you need it.

It's going to take me a few months to finish paying down the balance transfer. Once I'm in good standing, I intend to get an AMEX card with 6% cash back on groceries. Access to good cards is really my main interest in having good credit.