Building Credit
Guys I have 0 debt, ive always paid for everything in cash because i didnt like owing money, but now i have 0 credit, thereis no credit info for me in any of the credit check places, and its kind of biting me in the ass now, how can i build some credit?
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Get a credit card, and pay it off in full each month. 0 -
Get a Sears account and pay it off. Then you will have a credit history.
JM0 -
quote:Originally posted by Marc1301
Get a credit card, and pay it off in full each month.
Marc, i tried that! i applied to three different credit card companies, and they all declined me, citing i have inssufficent credit history.
I really just want a card with like a 500 dollar limit, just to have. I guess i will apply again.0 -
how do i know which of these choices to choose?
http://www.usa.visa.com/personal/cards/credit/visa_classic_apply.jsp?it=c|/personal/cards/credit/visa_classic.html|Apply%20Now0 -
Try to get a Lowes or Home Depot card,.......they are easy to get.
Or try to get one from where you bank.0 -
Also a Sears card,.......although I never go there, but they are easy to get. Won't do ya any good though, unless you use it!
Gas cards are another good choice to develop a credit history.0 -
Get yourself a SECURED credit card. This means you'll have to put down a deposit with the issuer for the amount of your credit limit. So, if you want a $500 limit, you put down a $500 deposit.
You'll get the benefit of having a Visa or MC, and you won't be stuck purchasing only at one store. Moreover, nobody knows except you that it is a secured credit card.
You don't need a credit history to get one of these. As long as you have the deposit, you'll qualify for the card.0 -
Spaniels, I was going to suggest that also, but most of those cards charge crazy "setup" fees, plus annual fees.
Sometimes you have no other choice though, I guess.0 -
Look for student credit cards with no annual fee. They can be found easy, everyone gives them away. Thats what I started out with, $500 credit limit and %18 interest, but I paid it off every month. Now the card is up to $6000 and 9%, although I am not a student anymore. Its also through my bank. 0 -
i just applied for a VIsa Secured Card. We shall see how it turns out, thank you guys for helping me out. I actually picked the Secured card right before i read Spaniels post, so thanks buddy! 0 -
try a cabellas card u can use it anywheres and u get money to spend at cabellas by using it 0 -
Good luck with the secured card,........but I still say, get a gas card for where you buy most of your gas, they even give those to some folks that have declared bankruptcy!
Lowes, Home Depot, Target, Sears,.....etc,......those are all very easy to get. They will take the chance, and start you with a low limit, but you don't have any fees to pay.
The more cards being reported to the credit agencies, the faster you can get the "good" cards!
I have one with a fixed 4.99% rate, and a 20K limit.
Be SURE, that the secured card you applied for, reports monthly, to all 3 agencies!!!0 -
Was just going to suggest a Student card, but see that others beat me to it.
Also would recommend Citibank. I use them and have never had a problem. They have even helped me out.
Ordered a computer that was defective from Micron. I could not get them to accept a return and refund my money. I bought it on a Citibank card, called customer service and they took care of everything. Got a phone call in less than an hour from Micron with a Return Authorization Number and got my refund in full.
Also look for cards with no annual fees, there are lots. I also use the cards that give me money back.0 -
You have to be a "student" at the time you apply for a student card,.......therefore the name.
Guess you can lie though.
If he does the above,.......within 6 months, he will be getting more offers than he wants![:D]0 -
My banker said that you should have at least two lines of credit open and to, of course, pay them in full every month. I used to have just one credit card, then I opened up a line a credit agaist my checking acount. If you keep getting declined for offers your bank should be able to help you out. 0 -
Try getting a card through your own personal bank.
I shocked a credit card company would not give you a card. They give them things out left and right. As far as getting a house loan, none of the lenders we dealt with ever referred to a "credit score". They looked at the price of the house, our down payment, and our income level. I realy question this "credit score" system as a bunch of hype.0 -
More debtors, on the way. Hahaha!
JM0 -
Man your guys banks are nice to you, i bank with wachovia, but they wouldnt even give me a debit card, i got tired of always having to hit the ATM for cash, so i applied for a debit card, declined. BS. People with bad credit seem to get treated better than I. 0 -
Did it keep you from getting a mortgage? If so, find a mortgage lender that does MANUAL underwriting and that does not simply go by the FICO score. These lenders will examine who you are and how you take care of business, not how much debt you can manage. 0 -
quote:Originally posted by SuburbanNoize
Man your guys banks are nice to you, i bank with wachovia, but they wouldnt even give me a debit card, i got tired of always having to hit the ATM for cash, so i applied for a debit card, declined. BS. People with bad credit seem to get treated better than I.
You're kidding!
I use Wachovia also, and can't believe you can't get a debit card![xx(]
I never use mine, but it came with my free checks, when I opened my account years ago.
Have you written any bad checks?0 -
quote:Originally posted by Marc1301
quote:Originally posted by SuburbanNoize
Man your guys banks are nice to you, i bank with wachovia, but they wouldnt even give me a debit card, i got tired of always having to hit the ATM for cash, so i applied for a debit card, declined. BS. People with bad credit seem to get treated better than I.
You're kidding!
I use Wachovia also, and can't believe you can't get a debit card![xx(]
I never use mine, but it came with my free checks, when I opened my account years ago.
Have you written any bad checks?
Nunn, being only 21, im not really looking at buying a house, yet. Im actually looking at apartments. And marc, ive never not once had a blemish on my credit. Ive had a bank account since about 19, and never once wrote a bad check, never anything bad, not once. And its only a damn debit card!0 -
I don't get it why you can't get a debit card,.....that is BS, if you have never written a bad check, or overdrawn your account!
I am pretty close to the manager at my local branch,........if you like, when I can get the time, I will call her, and ask what could be possibly preventing someone like you from getting one!
No names, or locations mentioned, of course![:D]0 -
I don't know what the problem is. Son Travis has a bank account with a Visa debit card. He has never bought checks.
About twice a month I throw out a credit card offer that comes for him. I figure after he gets back from Iraq, he can throw them out himself.
I hate credit, but if you think you need a credit score, go get a pre-paid card. Pay it up, use it, pay it off.
I am a heap older than you, but I filed Chapter 7 in 2004. Even so, I threw away about 50 credit card offers until I found one I liked. I use it ONLY for online purchases and I pay it off every month.0 -
MARC, youve got mail 0 -
Suburban,........you have a reply![:D] 0 -
quote:Originally posted by Marc1301
Get a credit card, and pay it off in full each month.
NO, do NOT pay it off in full every month - that will give you a ZERO credit rating! Credit card companies are in business to make money and make nothing if the balance is paid off each month. That's convenient for people who already have credit established but you need to prove that you can be trusted to pay a scheduled payment each month. Your credit report is based on activity for the past 12 months. You want to have I-1 ratings for installment loans (car loans, personal loans, etc.) and R-1 for revolving loans (credit cards). Keep a low open balance (showing you don't max out your limit) and make your payments each month for a minimum of 12 months. Most companies report to the bureau either annually or semi-annually. If you have no balance, you have no credit rating. I spent over 30 years in the lending business and reluctantly had to turn down people who did not have sufficient ratings which kept their scores low even though I knew that had the means to make the payments.0 -
quote:NO, do NOT pay it off in full every month - that will give you a ZERO credit rating!
I don't believe this is true, but if it is, I am right on track. My goal is to have a credit score of zero.0 -
quote:Credit card companies are in business to make money and make nothing if the balance is paid off each month.
Not true,.......they make the discount rate, from the merchant, off of every purchase that I use them for. In my case that is virtually everything, as I never carry any significant amount of cash. I use "dividend" cards, and make anywhere from 800 to 1200 bucks a year in cash.
I have never done anything other than pay them off in full, my entire life.
My FICO score runs between 780, and 820, depending upon whether I have taken a "hit" for opening a Lowes card, to take advantage of a "no interest for 12 months" deal, like when I replaced all of my appliances with SS, and then when you close that account after paying it off in 10 months.
Where is my FICO coming from then?0 -
quote:Originally posted by SuburbanNoize
i just applied for a VIsa Secured Card. We shall see how it turns out, thank you guys for helping me out. I actually picked the Secured card right before i read Spaniels post, so thanks buddy!
Glad to help.0 -
quote:Originally posted by Spider7115
quote:Originally posted by Marc1301
Get a credit card, and pay it off in full each month.
NO, do NOT pay it off in full every month - that will give you a ZERO credit rating! Credit card companies are in business to make money and make nothing if the balance is paid off each month. That's convenient for people who already have credit established but you need to prove that you can be trusted to pay a scheduled payment each month. Your credit report is based on activity for the past 12 months. You want to have I-1 ratings for installment loans (car loans, personal loans, etc.) and R-1 for revolving loans (credit cards). Keep a low open balance (showing you don't max out your limit) and make your payments each month for a minimum of 12 months. Most companies report to the bureau either annually or semi-annually. If you have no balance, you have no credit rating. I spent over 30 years in the lending business and reluctantly had to turn down people who did not have sufficient ratings which kept their scores low even though I knew that had the means to make the payments.
If you are trying to BUILD credit, then no, you do not want to pay off the card every month, but keep as small a balance as you can (about $100) so the interest charges don't kill you.
If you have built your credit, the smartest thing you can do is pay off the credit cards.
Look -- I've not had a job in two years. Yesterday I applied over the 'Net for a new Frontier Airlines credit card (to use for my new job). Because of my stellar credit history (paying off all my bills on time every month), I qualified for a rather obscene credit line -- to the point where I had to call the company and ask them to lower it so it wouldn't negatively affect my credit score.
Creditors love me, I'm a very good payer and I am a very low risk.
And, credit card companies make a ton of money off the transaction fees they charge merchants -- 2% or higher for each transaction. When you charge your entire monthly expenses (we even charge our monthly mortgage), the credit card companies see that they can make a fortune off you even if you pay your cards off every month.0
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