be very carefull, i slip will kill you trust me. it happen to me one late payment
also check your history to see what you have in the way of you "Score"

 

That's not exactly right either, as you do not need any credit cards whatsoever to build "credit." The two things share the word "credit," but they are not entirely dependent on one another.

I don't have a single credit card, I have one checking account, and I've built my credit by 1)Getting a cell phone in my name and making payements on time 2)Getting progressively larger loans, and paying them off on time.

As I said before, no one should have a problem getting a $500 loan from their bank. Keep the $ they give you, and use it to pack back the loan over time (pay off a little early). That kind of thing build your credit really well. Wait alittle while, then do it with $1500...then $3000, then $10,000, etc.

When I was 18, I had a part time job (low income), not a single credit card, not even a phone in my name. But because of my history with the bank, I got approved to buy a Civic in my name without a single problem. No thanks to any credit cards wink1.gif

Credit cards are not how you build your credit. In most cases (as others have said) they do more harm than good. Think of your credit as your "history with YOUR bank" and how well they trust you - ie: how much "credit" they give you. Do not just associate your credit with "credit cards."

 

Joshuwa, i think your talking about more how to build a repore with your bank. My wife got a loan for her car because her family had used that bank for a long time and she had her job for like 3 years. but no credit history at all.

now if you want to get your credit score up, having credit is one of the best ways. take a look at that link i posted in my last post. your also right about the whole loan thing but a credit card or two is the quickest way if you have self control.

oh and btw cyber, you used to be right. Credit cards were viewed as one source. Now your credit score is affected by how much credit you have vs. your debt. so if you've got a few 5k credit cards with hardly anything on them it will help your score.

 

Your score goes up every time you get approved for a new credit line. The more money you get approved for, the higher your score will go.

Your score goes up every time you pay more than minimum payment. You could pay $500 for something and the next month instead of paying $10-15, you could pay $450 or even the whole thing off and it would help your credit.

There a lot more ways to keep your score up.

 

Like I stated earlier, I havn't had a credit card in many years and this was the way it was back then. I've been able to buy a home and a few cars and have been approved to buy another house if I so desire..without having a credit card.

 

I bought my Tib 8 days after I turned 18, and I make monthly payments online directly out of my checking account to the Ford Credit company. I bought my Tib from a Ford dealer, so I am set up with Ford Credit. I have made payments of more than the required monthly payment at LEAST a week of when it was due. Over a year later, I have some excellent credit for a 19 year old.

I just applied for a Best Buy credit card yesterday since I need to get a new computer when I move away for school. And yes people, it IS necessary. I can't risk my computer crapping out living 2 hours from home with little money. Anyway, I was approved for $800. It's no interest for 18 months. All I'm doing is buying the computer and the necessary software (Microsoft Student 2006 and McAfee Antivirus), putting it on my card, and making payments of $100 a month or more until the time comes to move. From there on, the payments will be lowered to $50 or $25 a month. The minimum is $10. Within a year, that computer will be paid off. As soon as it's paid off, I'm getting rid of that credit card. By the time I graduate college with my 2 degrees, I should be able to buy a house if I wanted... but I can't see why I would.

Another thing I have to tell you is STAY AWAY FROM THOSE MAIL OFFERS. If you get those letters in the mail saying you have been approved, read the fine print. Usually the interest rate is ridiculous and you have to pay a few hundred dollars just to be able to set up the card. People get that in the mail if they have no credit or bad credit as an option to try and re-build their credit to a better score.