Quote:
Originally Posted by VintageMA
Wow - I am amazed at how many people have responded to this thread.
My suggestion is to get the credit card, you may not be able to get a low APR with no past histroy, but that's okay. When you start out just use the credit card to pay for what you know you can pay off every month.
One suggestion is that things you would normally pay cash for (ie: gas, food shopping, etc) you save the cash and pay with CC and then pay off each month. When the bank see you charging and paying off each month they will continue to give you higher credit limits.
I royally f'ed up when I got my first CC and maxed it out when I was in college. My parent started getting calls at 8 in the morning from collectors and it was very shameful for me. My limit was $2000 and I was at $2500 with interest compounding - i couldn't keep up at the time with very little income. Luckily my parents bailed me out - but that was a serious lesson learned - and ever again I said would I hold a CC debt I couldn't afford to pay.
Another thing I learned was that it's very hard to get a loan if you've never had one before either, even with a CC. So getting a car with a loan for part of the purchase (even if the interest is higher) and paying it off on time (or even early) look great on your credit report.
We live in a credit/debt society right now - I've heard that it is almost the norm for people for to have up $20000 in CC debt at most times - and think of the interest being paid out for that.
To build credit over the time (expecially if you are thinking of buying a house and getting a mortgage with a good rate) it is good to work yourself up to having 2 CC's and going through a few loans (car or personal) and paying them off over time to help build your credit.
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im gonna have to say that this was definetly the best/simplest advice ive read through this whole thread.
alot of what you guys said was far too advanced for what i know
recently i had bought a tv and all that stuff from best buy and have 18 months to pay it off with no interest. that would have been a great thing to build my credit... problem is my dad only put his name on it. didnt put me as a join person or however that works.
i think when i finish paying that off i may go and do it again with a laptop and put it in my name. that way i can build credit from that with no interest while using a CC and get credit from that.
soon i will be buying a new car (in the next year i hope) and that will definetly help me alot.
i do know my own limits and i am very good with spending my money, so getting a CC wont hurt me in that area. i wont spend more than i can afford.
right now i do have a steady job. although it is a "shift" job i still get around 30-40 hours a week plus tips.
i probably wont get one untill i finish paying off my debts that way i can start fresh without working about anything.
i appreciate all your help! i didnt realize everyone here was so smart with credit and all that fun stuff.