whats the best way to build credit when you are first going into college and have no credit? what are some good credit cards companies that will give you a card without a credit history?
Check out our recommended student credit cards, and you should be able to get approved for one as a full-time student. The Citi Forward Card is an excellent one that will reward you for managing your credit responsibly. Discover also has some good no annual fee options for students. You may want to read this article I wrote to help you get started too: Five Credit Card Tips for College-Bound Millennials . Hope this helps, and good luck as you begin building your credit history! It'll be one of the most important things you do for your personal financial future, so make sure you understand how to do it right when first starting out. Feel free to come back and ask questions whenever you need help.
Building a credit history using starter credit cards is a time honored way for young people to build a credit history but it is horribly expensive and fraught with lots of pitfalls for the unwary. In my personal opinion and experience it is absolutely the worst way one could possibly go about building a solid credit history. One should always be aware that credit card companies are in business for the sole purpose of making money and lots of it by any hook or crook imaginable by man and allowable by law. Young people just starting out in life normally don't have the financial resources to play that game and soon fall into debt that they cannot work their way out of easily. There is a much easier and faster way to build excellent credit at a total cost of less than $100 and do it in just 12 short weeks. No credit card company can afford to let people do that and survive. The method that I use and advocate cannot generate late fees or over limit fees or any other kind of fees or charges of any kind. There is never any chance of over extending one's self or getting into any kind of trouble because they used it. My method is called the 3 banks trick and has been used by millions of people and corporations all over the world with great success and no problems. All you need to do to learn all about it and how to do it is to click on the link in my signature line below and look for the link to the 3 banks trick.
While it's true that many college students make mistakes when first handling credit, I think it's clear that you're interested in educating yourself and making good decisions by reaching out to this forum. That's how we need more young people to think, so good for you. In my personal experience, those that take the time to learn the basics early can easily steer clear of problems and quickly build their credit profile. That's the way I did it, and I'm a huge advocate of credit education as opposed to avoiding credit cards just because you could "potentially" get into debt. My advice is to still get some revolving credit, live within your means, and always pay your balance in full.
Joshua is absolutely correct in most of what he has said here. It isn't a question of whether one gets credit cards or not. Good credit and a good credit history is almost an absolute must in this day and age. The only place we seem to differ is in what it costs to get that good credit. Do we want to pay all manner of fees and take a few years to build that credit or do we want to get on the fast track and do it in a really short period of time and at a bare minimum of cost. Apply for all the credit builder cards and you get low limits and pay a very high price over a long period of time. Do it my way and you build your excellent credit before you apply for any credit cards and you will get much better limits and do it all within a very few months as opposed to spending the next few years trying to do it. Big difference.
I'm all for efficiency and playing the credit game in a smart way, but I personally shy away from recommending any "tricks" or shortcuts to young people that are just getting started. I happen to believe it's more important to learn some things in life as they are meant to be learned. At the end of the day, building a strong credit profile does take some time and consistent good financial behavior. But students can get no annual fee credit cards, use them to cover necessary expenses, pay their bills in full, and never pay an extra dime in interest or fees. Their credit scores will improve quickly, as did mine when I was in college, and they learn invaluable lessons along the way.
I agree with Joshua. Learn the discipline of money management. Forget to pay the bill or can't pay it all, and then see the charges. If this happened to people when they were younger and they learned some financial discipline this country might be in a better shape.
well thanks guys.....hedwig i actually went to the site and found the bank link but it took me to somewhere that was alot of google ads.
oh yes you will...i was asking about the new credit thing for my younger sister. i actually am a small business owner who just got discharged from bankruptcy and am trying to rebuild my own credit as well. are there any loans out their for people in my situation?
You can certainly expect credit to be more difficult to get, more expensive, and in a limited amount for some time, but there's no reason to believe you can't rebuild your credit history within a year or two. Since your bankruptcy was just discharged, you may want to focus a lot of your energy on increasing your assets, income, and net worth instead of getting new loans. However, you should also be able to get a secured credit card with a small limit that reports to the CRAs and will allow you to upgrade to an unsecured card after a year or so of responsible use. That's probably the best way to get started on the right track again.
thanks. i actually got a cap1 unsec card and will use that plus ill get a sec card and start rebuilding
