The savings account collateral for the card can NOT be used to make monthly payments, only to establish your credit line. You can be laid up in traction and bandages from head to toe, the MONTHLY PAYMENT MUST come from a source other than the savings account.

For this reason, secured accounts merit serious consideration for that overpriced insurance that covers disability and unemployment.

EVENTUALLY you WILL be able to apply the entire account to your unpaid balance BUT that tme usually takes a bit longer to arrive than most cardholders think.

AND, if I recall what I did to whomp my secured card when it was reclassified, I believe you have to cash or deposit their check for the entire amount you remove (you don't have to close the savings account that's used for collateral, but you may not want to after you analyze your situation then) and write a check for the payment you want to make.

And credit for the deposit can take as long as 21 days, depending on how the bank where you deposit your check manipulates what's known as the "float." That's the time between the time your bank knows with absolute certainty that the check you deposited is good as gold and still makes you wait for the credit in your account.

Regarding your questions:

"is it a good idea to start trying to re-establish your credit w/ a secured cc while still trying to pay the last 2 bad debts off"?

How much at what interest?

Generally speaking you are always better off getting out of debt completely before you plunge in again, hopefully knowing how to swim without water wings. People who have declared BK are in that favorable position.

But the real reason they are favored by creditors over folks who are struggling to keep paying is, they CAN NOT declare BK again for 7 years, and folks who are struggling may just decide one day to throw in the towel, and any outstanding balances will be discharged when they finally declare BK.

2 -- " ... will this show that I have changed my credit ways by having a good standing acct?"

It depends. You will need to keep that account in meticulous shape, regarding payments and staying within your credit limits.

And you should realize right off the bat that someone in your situation WILL be held to a strickter standard of what is timely or late than someone who qualifies for unsecured credit.

TIMELY means, your check is never "in the mail" on the due date. It arrived at least however many days BEFORE the due date, the number being specified in the contract.

LATE means it is not posted and credit to your account on the due date.

OVERLIMIT means -- 1 penny. IF you have religiously adhered to what may seem to be unreasonable standards regarding payment due dates, they may give you a break and reverse the overlimit charge.

But they do not HAVE TO do that, the card belongs to them and it is THEIR instrument to do as they choose with.

If they feel that an overlimit situation indicates you are sliding back into sinful credit ways, they can close the account.

That happened to my husband, and seeing what he owes me and hasn't paid since we worked out an agreement and a payment schedule, well, I have to say that if clairvoyance was used to make the decision, their psychic is a bona-fide seer. (No, he was not only a penny over the limit. He was over the limit on late fees.)

With all this in mind, getting a secured card is as good a way as any to begin re-establishing AA credit. The terms under which collateral is held are fairly short compared to installment loans.

Sometimes, it is the only way.

Read all the material on secured-card scams, though, before you accept any UNSOLICITED offers.

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