I am curious as to how long it takes to acquire the "prime" credit record that will get you the best interest rates, etc. I have had credit since July of 2000, with no lates. I have 3 credit cards, and one installment loan. Here are details. *Auto Loan, 7.5% rate, Opened Nov. 2000, $4300 beginning balance, recent balance $3300 *ICCU Visa, Opened 07/00, $300 limit (carry and pay off $50 balance each month) *Chase Plat, Opened 07/01, $8500 limit ($200 balance now, will carry for couple months at 2.99%) *Target Guest Card, Opened 07/01, $300 limit, Charge approx. $20 month and pay in full How am I doing? Are my ratios good or bad? Tips, etc. appreciated.
Matty, as young as you are, I'm just curious, are you in high school, first year of college? I assume you work part time as you go to school. I wish I had done as much for my credit at your age as you are doing. I think you're doing great. Keep it up and when you need the "A-1 prime" rates, they'll be there for you.
I'm in high school and work part-time. I'm actually working close to 30 hours a week, so my income is pretty strong. I used the free debt ratio indicator at 123debt.com and it said my debt to income ratio was 33%. How does that stand? Is it good or bad.
Re: Amount of time to have good cre How in the world did you get a CHASE PL with a $8500 CL with little or no credit?
Re: Amount of time to have good cre Remember: Do not close your old account when the new offers begin, it's very important for your score and cr history.
Re: Amount of time to have good cre I have $11,500 on two CHASE cards, but I have had credit cards since 1978...BUT I can't get CITIBANK...
Re: Amount of time to have good cre I'm not sure how I got the Chase Plat. It asked for household income, so I included mine and parents, which helps. I had the auto loan and credit cards on there (2 of them) and all had perfect payment histories, and only 4 inquiries.
Re: Amount of time to have good cre Matty, just keep your mind on managing your money and credit wisely and you will do fine. It looks as though you are doing an excellent job. Please, please keep up the good work. You are a fine example of the way young people should manage their credit. From what I can tell, you already have good credit and should be considered prime. Things have really changed since I first tried to get credit. I was just out of hight school in 1982 working part time, but not yet 18 and could not even get one card until I turned 18. I was almost 19 before I got my first card, Montgomery Ward with a $500 limit. From there I got a First Card (now would be FUSA) with a $1000 limit. Then a couple more store cards with small limits. I know they have student cards for high school students now, but don't their parents have to sign for these? Come to think of it, when I got a loan for my first new car at the age of 21 I needed my mom to cosign the loan (at that time, I was working full time). The only thing that scares me is that a credit card issuer would give someone working part time a Platinum card with such a high limit. This is how so many kids that do not know how to manage their money properly get into trouble at such a young age. Then you have the CC companies complaining about the high rate of bankruptcies and how they are losing money.
Re: Amount of time to have good cre That is true, I've had friends ask me about the card, and they croak when I tell them the credit limit. They all say, "Why don't you spend the money!" Many of the kids of today think credit is free; they aren't educated on how it works. I know my income, my bills each month, and how much I can spend. I wouldn't ever charge more than $500, and that would drive me up the wall owing that amount to the credit card company. I would never be stupid enough to go out and charge $8500, but it does wonders for my ratios. The key is to pay yourself before your bills. I always make sure I put at least $50 from each check I receive in the bank so I have some savings built up to support me for a few months if I lost my job, or something happened.
Re: Amount of time to have good cre matty, you are doing great!! You have a very good head on your shoulders. You should be proud of yourself. I know I'm proud of you. I wish many more young adults had your understanding of credit. Keep up to good work!!
Re: Amount of time to have good cre Thanks Miles! Now if I could only educate the youth on how important responsible management of credit is. Many of my friends think it is unnecessary to have a credit card at my age, which may be true, but I manage it responsibly. I feel there is an advantage to getting your credit record established early. It will give you a better history when applying for a mortgage and easy approval for an automobile loan. Plus, if my car breaks down, I can finance it on my credit card, while my friends scamper to rake up the cash. I feel the advantages of credit are clear; I just guess they have to learn on their own.
Re: Amount of time to have good cre I use credit cards to save money. I buy everything I can on DISCOVERCARD (this was before I put it in the sock drawer...another story) write ONE check to pay in full...and I get 1.00% cash back.
Re: Amount of time to have good cre It looks as if you already have prime interest rates on some of your accounts. I think it will take roughly until July of 2003 to build a "portable" credit history, one that gets you accepted as prime anywhere you apply. There are some oddball creditors who expect 7 years of credit or whatever, but I think 3 years of perfect payments, with all accounts at least 2 years old, will look great to any normal creditor. I think income will be an issue for a long time. You have some prime credit already, and will undoubtedly get more in th future, but the amount will always be limited by your income. A ratio of 33% is fairly high, about as high as you can go and still be in the normal range. But then you probably don't pay rent, so you can afford more payments than many adults can.
Re: Amount of time to have good cre I agree, Matty you are doing a great job! Don't let anything or anyone sidetrack you. Smart move to put money on the side in case of emergency. You just never know what can happen.
