Credit Card

my suggestion would be to stay away from credit cards until you are 30.

 

You should NEVER get a credit card. You should stay as far away from ALL debt as possible. Do your finances like you grandparents most likely did......pay cash or don't buy it. Remember "the debtor is enslaved to the lender".

 

I second that! Credit Cards are the devil. I'm dead serious. Get like one credit card MAX, with a credit line of $500 Max! Pay it off every month. You will seriously f*ck your life up easy with credit card debt. God, how many different ways can I say this; stay AWAY!!!

There is a massive game they play with you. Up you r credit and up and up and up and you just spend and spend and spend, then you miss a payment and that OK APR you had goes up 10 points and now you have a 25% APR on debt you cannot pay, so now the minimum payment doesn't even cover the finances charges. Millions of Americans have to declare bankruptcy because of credit cards. Seriously dude, RUN!!!!

 

please, please, please... listen to moe.

don't even get one for the "just in case of an emergency" excuse.

they'll get you in trouble big time. i speak from experience from when i was a student.

 

Want a credit card? Get an American Express card. You have to pay it off every month. Visa, Mastercard, Discover and the rest of them can all go to hell. They are tools of the devil.

 

I'm going to go out on a limb...and say DO NOT get a credit card until you are out of college. I've spent the last 4 years paying off credit cards and I'm just now starting to rebuild my horrible credit.

Just you a Visa Check Card as if it were a credit card and you'll have no debt or credit problems. TRUST ME.

 

I understand where y'all are coming from with warning someone away from credit cards, but I actually think I may want to get one as well. Without a credit card I have no credit line established and it sucks. I would like to get a card and just use it for a purchase or 2 each month and pay off the balance so I can develop a good credit record.

 

What are you guys talking about? A credit card can be a very good thing if used responsibly. It helps build up your credit history.

Just make sure to pay off the whole thing every month.

 

Why does everyone think that the have to have a credit card to get good credit? Assuming you want credit to one day buy a house, you don't have to a history of paying on a credit card or car. You need to have a history of paying your rent on time, a good work history & a good (20%) downpayment. "They" just say you need to make credit card payments & car payments to get you $.

 

Don't drink alcohol ever because some people can't control themselves.

If you ever want to buy a car...if you ever want to buy a house...if you ever want a loan from a bank to start a business...you will have to establish some credit. A low-interest rate, low limit credit card can help you do that. Just be diligent about keeping your debt low.

But unless you've needed one in an emergency, you have no idea how valuable they can be. Cash is not always easily accessible.

Avoid Astros credit cards...interest rates are usually too high on those kinds of cards. But don't be afraid to open up a modest credit line.

I would agree on American Express...unless the fee is too high. That's a decision you'll have to make. But don't let the fact that others got into credit problems completely deter you from building a credit history. Just make sure you pay off your balances.

 

OK, I'm glad you mentioned this. This is NOT how you establish credit.
The way to establish GOOD credit is to get a SIMPLE INTEREST loan, even a small one from a bank, and then PAY IT OFF.

The reason I say simple interest is that there is no penalty for paying it off sooner than it needs to be paid off and that improves your credit rating.

Best case scenario: Borrow $2000 dollars on a simple interest loan at your bank, put the money in your checking account. When the first payment coupon comes, pay off HALF. When the second coupon comes pay the second half. That's it! You've just established credit by successfully paying back a bank loan ahead of schedule.

Then if you do want to geta credit card, you are able to get GOOD cards with NO APR and cash back.

 

Don't let everybody scare you. Credit cards are OK if used responsibly. Face it, you'll most likely have a debt, whether it's a car, student loan, house, etc, so a credit card won't kill you. It's a good way to establish a credit line, and you'll need one if you want to rent a car. One thing I need to stop doing is putting my gas on my credit card.

One thing you should definitely stay away from are department store credit cards...

 

Actually you will find that cash works quite well it all three of these instances.

The only one I would agree that you might need a loan on is the house. I feel you should have 20% down and only a 15 year loan (or less). The only debt I have is on my house & I am workiing to pay it off as fast as possible to be debt free. You would be suprised at how great it is to not have any payments. I have been working a couple of years to get to that point.

 

I am also in college, and so far i have been using a Visa Check Card for about 3yrs. I dont feel the need to have a credit card at the moment, but I am also interested in which ones are considered the best.

 

Exactly. Some people around here make it out that credit cards are the boogeyman.

I would recommend getting one through a credit union (if you are eligible to join or already have an account). My rate is like 9.9% and is fixed and I don't have all these hidden fees and crap.

 

Absolutely Mulder.

On the "food chain" of credit, credit cards on way, way, way at the bottom. And when you take the interest rate into consideration, they're pretty worthless.

Mulder described an excellent way to establish credit.

Take advantage of current interest rates by taking out a bank loan, and pay it back ASAP. Paying off a bank loan is like GOLD on your credit rating.

And most banks will let you borrow up to your checking or savings account balance (especially if it maintains a certain balance) with few problems.

But if you decide to get a card, be careful!

 

I just graduated a few weeks ago, so I never had a credit card through college either, but now I'm getting a condo and it's tough for me to even get on as a co-borrower with my dad's help because I have no credit history. All the lenders I've talked to have said that having a credit card would have helped. Now I have to get the loan through my father and I'll just have to pay him instead of the bank. It's quite the run around.

 

do you know how few people in the United States are capable of plunking down cash for a car? for a new business?? for a home?

debt is what it is. no..you don't want to get in over your head. but acting like it's this nightmare gloom and doom threat to be avoided at all costs is just silly, in my view.

 

I'll join the reaction: get a credit card. Understand that they are evil and can get you in trouble. Master yourself, be wise in your spending and manage your books. The answer is not to avoid credit cards. They are very useful for a lot of things. It is just this one thing that you have to not do: "Well, I'll be able to afford it next month."

I have heard that 3 to 4 credit cards it optimal for your credit history. I have one and great credit (surprisingly).

I don't know what kind to tell you to get though. I got my card and then stopped listening to all those companies.