Trying to build credit is GHEY! (rant)

[BustedUjoint]

some links with articles, so jerk offs like me don't give you bad info.

http://credit.about.com/od/credit101/u/creditbasics.htm

http://banking.about.com/od/loans/a/buildcredit.htm

[TrboChicsRock]

Originally Posted by teh DIRT

credit cards build credit, loans build credit...but they do not build the same credit. I have a friend who used to work in banks. He told me that you can only get so much credit from credit cards and so much from other things.

This is true. I had great history with credit cards, no late payments. Had trouble getting a car loan because I had "no comparable history" and of course, no one to cosign for me. Capital One ended up giving me a loan.

Try Household Bank or Orchard Bank. I believe they're the same company though, but they're good starter credit cards.

[DPancoast]

Man I must have gotten lucky or something.

My first bill in my name was my cellphone in 2006 which was free with a 2 year contract... Then from there I went to my bank and got a visa platinum card with a $300 limit for my ezpass and Xbox live subscriptions... The I got a Wawa card, followed by jcpenny and then a $3k low interest revolving loan (unfortunatly to pay off $1k between my credit cards at the time cuz i ha just got my car)...My visa plat limit is up to $3k which I only use for my $7.99/mo Xbox live now and my Wawa one is about $1500.. They are both in a safe for emergencies for now. My revolving loan is being used for a computer that my dad let me put on his name and I couldnt keep up with the 20+% interest haha. Once that is payed off this year I am leaving my cards and loan alone for a while haha... Too much stress.

I dunno what my credit score is (checked it recently but I forget. It was pretty high actually) but I would guess I'm doing ok for being 21 and in school/working

[Jeffros Spec V]

Little article on credit scores

http://www.walletpop.com/credit/expe...493x1200526602

[arkadyzv]

Citibank student upromise card. They gave me a decent limit compared to any of the other credit cards. And by using your card you get certain percentages back when buying things, moreso for school stuff like books, food, etc towards your school loans. Even if you are not a student, if you still have good student loans then its a smart card to have. Plus it actually has a real limit, that might be beneficial in case of emergencies.

If you applied a bunch of times then take it easy for a few months, you're credit gets pulled everytime you apply. And its a "hard" pull thus AFAIK its a few points off.

As stated either have a co-applicant or get a store card, for example macys and express. Try the citi card though, its the card I usually recommend to others and it actually has a decent interest rate of around 11%. All the other first timer cards atleast the ones I've gotten were over 15 to 25%.

Its good that you are wanting to build credit early, msn.money.com always has good information. As far as credit card offers and things of that nature, you cant beat bankrate.com. While on the credit aspect of things, look into a good savings account, putting away even $25 a week goes a long way in the future.

[EvlEgl]

Kawasaki gave me 10G's for the bike without Blinking an Eye....I'm 22 have 3 Major Credit Cards (Citi,Chase,Capital One) and 2 Other ones (Goodyear card, GE Money Card I put the Engagement ring on)

I started with the Citi Bank card at 18 as a "Student" Account. I also have a Loan through Commerce bank that's 4 payments away from being finished...Last time I checked my Credit score was around 700. You gotta build it up over time its not Instant...And whoever said paying stuff off all at once isnt good...Thats crap. Credit card companies want you to leave your balances on there so they make money on the interest...but it doesn't hurt you by paying it all off within the same month of buying it.

P.s. I'm in another persons Sig and I didnt even realize it...i feel Almost Famous!!

[lagos]

There is one simple way to build credit that most people don't realize. I think I heard this on that SusyOrman show. Basically, ask your dad (who has good credit) to put your name on one of his cards. You don't have to use the card or anything, just have him make his bank issue an extra card with your name on it.
Then when you go apply for your own card, his credit score will also be taken into account.

Another thing... Do you have a checking account? If not, go open one up asap. Even if you dont use it, just keep like 100bucks in there. Thats one of the big things credit card co look for when you apply. They figure that if your not responsible enough to have a checking account, then how will you pay them back every month?
Make sure you do that first before you apply for any more cards.

I must have great credit since my cards bank just offered me a 6k loan at 3% without me even asking them.

[omgjacki]

Why ask me?

What Capitol One card did you apply for? I was approved for a credit card a few months after my 18th birthday and I had absolutely no credit at all. I went to Capitol One's site and applied for the Student Platinum card with a $300.00 limit.

Just to let you know, everything you apply for (credit card, load, etc.) effects your credit score, even if you're approved. Not much, but some. So the less you apply for the better. I know it sucks, but that's how it is. I got lucky and was approved for the first card I applied for. I also have a cell phone bill in my name, now.

Good luck with everything.

[crazyukrainian]

ive heard from reputable sources that if you pay something off really quickly then it doesnt really go on your record/doesnt matter as much as if you pay it off over time (or something to that equivalent, that basically you need to show that you can pay it off over time and over a noticeable timeframe like a year+)

but i really have no idea, so i never really finance anything..... and yeah, cosigners = life

[lagos]

Originally Posted by crazyukrainian

ive heard from reputable sources that if you pay something off really quickly then it doesnt really go on your record/doesnt matter as much as if you pay it off over time (or something to that equivalent, that basically you need to show that you can pay it off over time and over a noticeable timeframe like a year+)

but i really have no idea, so i never really finance anything..... and yeah, cosigners = life

Thats kind of a myth.
Credit card companies WANT you to make minimum payments for life, because thats how they make money.... HOWEVER, when you go apply for a car loan or another credit card, they actually look at what your biggest payment was. So say you want to buy a car, and you have a credit card that you just make minimum payments on.... The bank is going to look at that and say, this car load requires you do pay 500$ a month, but in your history the most you ever paid was 50bucks. Thats going to look bad for you because the bank doesn't think you'll be used to that drastic of a commitment.

It also helps if they see that you had loans that you paid off in the past. A good way to do that would be to buy something, and then split the payments over the course of 6 months. That way, your making more then the minimum payment, showing that you can pay off a loan, and building your credit, all while keeping the credit card company happy for making some money off the interest.

[igo4bmx]

Originally Posted by lagos

Thats kind of a myth.
Credit card companies WANT you to make minimum payments for life, because thats how they make money.... HOWEVER, when you go apply for a car loan or another credit card, they actually look at what your biggest payment was. So say you want to buy a car, and you have a credit card that you just make minimum payments on.... The bank is going to look at that and say, this car load requires you do pay 500$ a month, but in your history the most you ever paid was 50bucks. Thats going to look bad for you because the bank doesn't think you'll be used to that drastic of a commitment.

It also helps if they see that you had loans that you paid off in the past. A good way to do that would be to buy something, and then split the payments over the course of 6 months. That way, your making more then the minimum payment, showing that you can pay off a loan, and building your credit, all while keeping the credit card company happy for making some money off the interest.

i don't think they really care much about how much you've paid in a loan per month like in your first statement but completing loans is a huge factor.

also keep in mind they prefer people who don't carry balances, the finance charges you incur are to offset the money that they don't have to invest into their own funds. plus they make money on every CC transaction which is how they make most of their money

[jdm free]

i have good credit from the extremely small loan i got from fafsa and one credit card. it seemed pretty easy and i turn 19 the end of the month. and now having a car payment probably helps it too

[240sxDann]

Well I went and got a Kohls card tonight and charged like $20 on it for a few t-shirts. Its a $300 limit, so I'm gonna try to maybe get up to like $200 on it and then pay it off slowly. (not too slow but not too fast either) I have a checking and a savings account and have a fair amount of money in it at most times. Its not like I can't afford a loan. (not saying that anybody says I can't, just saying) I make OK money for my age I think. Not super, but decent. Work a full time job, been there over 7 months now. I'm very responsible. I did have a peco bill in my name, but only for about 2 months so I dont think that helps me much.

[The Captain]

well that's the first step. Keep it up and it'll build.

[05 mazda6s]

They like to see that you have a checking and savings account to show that you are stable with your money. Do you have a checking and savings account?

[SovXietday]

My credit score is something like 790/820. Might be a little higher now that my loan is almost paid.

Lagos got it right. Put your name on your parents card when you're young. You will share their credit without doing anything, you don't even have to buy anything with the card. I have never once used my parents card (with my name on it).

Applied for my first loan when I was 19 and got the max allowed with the lowest interest payment, no cosigner.

If your parents don't have good credit, I wouldn't share it.

[TROLL]

Dan I wouldnt try to get the total up that high just because. I'd spend what you can pay off, and dont plan on carrying a balance over. You said you dont want to pay it off too quickly but I dont think that makes sense. Just show that you use the card here and there and that you pay your bills on time...

[WhiteXFire]

Things that help your credit:
-Length of open credit
-No late/negative history
-No defaults, public records, collections, etc
-Low overall debt to available credit ratio
-No single cards close to limit (ideally more than 50% available)
-No or few inquiries

Things that hurt your credit:
-Missing a payment
-Lots of requests for new credit, whether approved or denied
-Maxing out credit cards
-Carrying a large amount of overall debt in revolving accounts
-Relatively short open credit history, including closing old credit cards even if you don't use them


How do you get the highest credit score possible?
-Maintain 2 or 3 credit cards with decent limits that are paid off in full every month, at the very least paid down every month. (Revolving accounts)
-A paid off car loan, personal loan, student loan, or one that's active and being repaid. (Installment accounts)
-A paid off mortgage or home equity loan, or one that's active and being repaid. (Mortgage accounts)
-All payments on-time and no negative history on any account.
-Overall/average credit history of at least 8-10 years.
-No credit inquiries in the last two years, and no future inquiries that are unnecessary.

I just signed up for Equifax's Credit Score Watch service last week because I'm in the market for a house over the next few months and I want to monitor my score while I'm looking. I got a BoA credit card through my college freshman year that started off with a limit of $2800, and simply by paying off balances several times and never missing a payment over the last 8 years that limit went to almost $20,000 without ever asking for a limit increase. I also got a card last year that had a 0% promotional APR for 12 months on all balance transfers with no transfer fee and purchases, which I used for a lot of expenses and kept the money to pay it off in my savings account. As a result of carrying the balance (it didn't cost me a cent in interest), my score dropped almost 50 points. Now that it's 100% paid off because the promotional rate ended, my score is instantly back up more than those 50 points.