building credit?

[ruckusluvr]

How the world do you build credit!? I am 23, no credit at all. I want to start working on owning my own home and i think that having credit would help.

[DaneMama]

What I did was got ONE (or more if you can behave yourself with them) credit card. Spent money on it and paid the balance off in full every month. Never carried a balance on it. I bought my first house when I was 20.

The only way to build credit is apply for credit...and respect that credit.

[Ania's Mommy]

I agree. Get a major credit card. But NEVER charge more than 40% of the available credit (So if you have $1000 limit, stay below $400).

You COULD pay the card off every month. That would be the wise thing to do. But to rack up the credit points, just pay about 25% more than the minimum payment each month. And NEVER EVER BE LATE WITH YOUR PAYMENT!! This establishes a consistant, good payment history.

I'm not gonna lie. Doing this, you will end up paying a lot in interest. But if your goal is to establish credit, it's the way to go.

ETA: I am not a financial advisor. You may want to consult a real one before you do anything too drastic. You have zero credit, you are a blank slate. I can't tell you how VERY important it is to maintain good credit. Especially in this ecomomy.

Good luck!
Richelle

[t0nnn]

Pretty much do what is said above. Google "credit card promotions" The first couple of sites that come up usually have almost all current offers. I know on one of the sites you can filter promotions like, card for excellent credit, beginning credit, etc.

Keep an eye out for 0% cards, they're out there, and you'll avoid paying rancid interest while building your credit. (I HATE interest)

You may only approve for $500-$1000, but who cares. My advice is to find a card with a 0% APR for a year or so with a credit line of $500-$1000 and be smart with it.

[CorgiPaws]

I'm in the same boat. I have no credit at all, totally clean slate. But... I get denied for cards because of this. Confusing, to me, because it makes it very hard to get started. I don't NEED a credit card, but I want to build credit.

[malluver1005]

I'm in the same boat. I have no credit at all, totally clean slate. But... I get denied for cards because of this. Confusing, to me, because it makes it very hard to get started. I don't NEED a credit card, but I want to build credit.

I too was in the same boat about 4 years ago. Everyone kept denying me credit cards, and I kept wondering how the hell are you supposed to build credit?

[CorgiPaws]

I too was in the same boat about 4 years ago. Everyone kept denying me credit cards, and I kept wondering how the hell are you supposed to build credit?

So what did you end up doing???
I can't build credit without being approved. I can't be approved without credit, and no one will give me a chance!

[malluver1005]

So what did you end up doing???
I can't build credit without being approved. I can't be approved without credit, and no one will give me a chance!

Bank of America approved me after about 100 different tries at other banks!

[DaneMama]

What you do is call and talk to someone higher up. Tell them that you want a credit card and want a chance to build credit.

[spookychick13]

Discover card is also very willing to work with people.

What I did in college was this:

I got a credit card and used it ONLY for gas in the car, and that was it.
I paid on it every month and viola! Sparkling credit after about 6 months or so.