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O

OCGuy

Lifer
Jul 12, 2000
27,224
37
91
Mermaidman said:
Do you need a real credit card right away? Why not continue using your debit card while you slowly build your credit?

(Back in the old days, a person could 'build credit' by paying recurring bills on time. e.g. utility bills, phone bill, apartment rent, anything that is associated with your social security number. Don't know if this is still true nowadays.)
Click to expand...

Debit cards, cable bills, cell phones, etc do not report on your credit. The only time they you will see them on there is if it is a collection, because you failed to pay.
 
RockinZ28

RockinZ28

Platinum Member
Mar 5, 2008
2,171
49
101
OCGuy said:
Debit cards, cable bills, cell phones, etc do not report on your credit. The only time they you will see them on there is if it is a collection, because you failed to pay.
Click to expand...

Furthermore, they will check your credit when opening an account. Since I had none at the time, I had to put a $25 deposit down for my gas company, refunded after 1 year. Luckily electric and cable decided I didn't need one.

Good credit is beneficial in many ways.
 
gorcorps

gorcorps

aka Brandon
Jul 18, 2004
30,741
456
126
My first card was a CitiBank student card. I didn't get it till college though so you might still be a tad young. They accepted me when everybody else didn't though, so you should have a good shot.
 
Binarycow

Binarycow

Golden Member
Jan 10, 2010
1,238
2
76
tzhu07 said:
The most important advice when it comes to credit cards:

Never go into debt with credit cards by not paying off the monthly bill 100%. These companies are like loan sharks.
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listen to this man. Also, keep your credit spotless by paying off every dime you owe any body. You WILL save tens of thousands of dollars down the road with a good credit rating when it's time to buy a house or a new car.
 
W

Wag

Diamond Member
Jul 21, 2000
8,288
8
81
Start with store cards, they'll give them to pretty much anybody. Start buying stuff and pay it off immediately. You'll start building your credit pretty fast.
 
HendrixFan

HendrixFan

Diamond Member
Oct 18, 2001
4,646
0
71
If your parents have good credit and they are willing to, see if they will make you an authorized user on of of their cards. Preferably their oldest card with little to no balance carried over each month.

As an authorized user you will get credit for having had that card the entire time. From there you shouldn't have a problem getting accepted for other cards.

As was already stated, don't buy anything with the card that you can't pay off in full at the end of the month.
 
A

Alone

Diamond Member
Nov 19, 2006
7,490
0
0
I had a card with no history. Though, I regret it (can't control spending as well as I thought).

Best advice I can give is probably to just wait and finance something. If you have a decent paying job and move out, finance some furniture (cheap best, or table set, or something) with zero interest for around 12 months. Pay the minimum balance, never miss, and ride it out. You'll build up credit pretty easily that way.
 
Ms. DICKINSON

Ms. DICKINSON

Golden Member
May 17, 2010
1,221
1
81
bit.ly
Can maybe your parents add you to their card as "authorized user?" I added my mom to 3 of my accounts, both Visa and MasterCard she received shared the same cc numbers as mine but AMX gave her different numbers. I ran her credit report and the combined credit line showed up but each individual account states "authorized user." Prior to getting her on board, I found out that Fair Issaac (the FI and FICO) had closed the loophole where you can't help authorized user build their credit this way. But they do report the monthly activities on her credit profile. Any ideas?
 
Texashiker

Texashiker

Lifer
Dec 18, 2010
18,811
198
106
Binarycow said:
listen to this man. Also, keep your credit spotless by paying off every dime you owe any body. You WILL save tens of thousands of dollars down the road with a good credit rating when it's time to buy a house or a new car.
Click to expand...

My first wife had a problem with credit cards. She would spend, and spend, and spend,,,,, until she ran our family into around $35,000 of debt.

Just about every penny I made from my job barely paid the interest on the cards. It came to the point where we had to pick between buying food or paying credit cards.

We went through some company that helped get the interest lowered and we paid everything off.

A couple of years later she started running up the cards again. She was like a drug addict, in that she could not / would not stop with the credit cards. When she has ran the cards up to around $5,000 - $7,000, I had enough.

The spending was one of the big reasons why we separated and divorced. I can / will not not live my life in constant debt.
 
highland145

highland145

Lifer
Oct 12, 2009
43,973
6,338
136
D1gger

D1gger

Diamond Member
Oct 3, 2004
5,411
2
76
mnewsham said:
Damn, yeah i plan on buying a laptop for fairly cheap then pay that off over a two month period maybe 3. After that just going to use it for emergency money.
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That is a very bad idea. You will end up paying 20% interest or more on that purchase. Make due with your heavy laptop for 2 - 3 months while you save for a new laptop instead.
 
M

Mxylplyx

Diamond Member
Mar 21, 2007
4,197
101
106
Do realize that the first time you fail to pay off the entire balance at the end of the month, the credit card companies have won, and you have been sucked into the vicious cycle that so many young people fall into.

My advice is to not worry about your credit right now.
 
mnewsham

mnewsham

Lifer
Oct 2, 2010
14,539
428
136
D1gger said:
That is a very bad idea. You will end up paying 20% interest or more on that purchase. Make due with your heavy laptop for 2 - 3 months while you save for a new laptop instead.
Click to expand...

Ones I am looking at are no intrest for first 3 months. Still will probably end up saving for the laptop and getting a secured card (100 deposit with 200 credit line I think)
 
mnewsham

mnewsham

Lifer
Oct 2, 2010
14,539
428
136
SandEagle said:
do not listen to this guy. unsecured is the way to go. dont have assets tied to a cc.
Click to expand...

When I made this thread I promised I wouldn't take advice from people with bad credit habbits who want 3d tv's though :hmm:
 
Raduque

Raduque

Lifer
Aug 22, 2004
13,140
138
106
SandEagle said:
do not listen to this guy. unsecured is the way to go. dont have assets tied to a cc.
Click to expand...

Unsecured may be the way to go, but for people with limited/no or bad credit, a secured card is the only option. It's also better than NO option, and in most cases, your money earns interest that you get when you get your deposit back.
 
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