Credit Cards - Experienced People Wanted!

When I turned 18, I was belligerent as hell and got about 3 credit cards.

I ended up with a few thousand in debt and ruined my credit rating. It haunts me to this day.

Like everyone is saying, don't use it like a debit card. Rack up $30-50 a month on it (or whatever works in your budget), and pay it off per bill, if you can. That doesn't hurt your credit - it improves it. Yes, they don't make money off of you - that's because you're doing your job. They make money off of the assholes who, like I did, go absolutely nuts with the credit line.

Don't get a card if you can't afford it or don't have steady, reliable income.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Avalokiteshvara

My card's got a points program which is effectively a 2% cash back program. I use it to pay for everything. It's not that hard to manage the finances. All you're doing is consolidating all of your expenses in one place. The money still needs to be paid out, but you can sometimes bank on the float. That, and if you can cram all of your essential spending, ie, food, utilities, travel through your card, you're earning that 2% or whatever rewards.

This is the first that I've heard that accruing interest on your bills actually improves credit. Fuck that shit. I felt ashamed when I accrued interest. Now I see this god-awful YTD interest of 9.20 on my account. It's a blemish. =(

I've always admired the fact that you throw pretty much everything at your credit card, and then pay off so many expenses with one payment. It's clever, but I really don't know if it'd work for everyone. (It just so happens that you're diligent, disciplined, and intelligent.)

Like Unforgiven said, they can be a blessing and they can be a curse. It's very very important to keep up with you credit card account(s). I don't say this out of ignorance.

Personally, I found it INTENSELY easy to just charge this and charge that to my credit, not really thinking about the income I had flowing into my bank accounts. (Yea, I was dumb. Yea, I learned my lesson) Treat your credit card like an added monthly expense, and you'll score well.

(I have NEVER heard that accruing interest on your card is "good for your credit score." Pay it off on time - avoid accruing interest if you can. I'd love to see the source on that advice.)

Additionally, I just spent the last hour looking at my credit report. The first time I had ever seen one. Looks like all my blemishes from when I was young are about to expire on themselves, leaving me with a reasonably clean slate. Which makes me smile.

There's another tip for you: don't apply for too many cards at once (as the issuer will see it on your report and could find you as a liability)

And one last tip: Try to avoid checking on your credit more than once a year. You're legally entitled to ONE free credit check per year, apparently. Use it wisely.

LASTLY, do they teach courses in high school on personal finance these days? Anything about credit? They really ought to.

Most amazing jew boots