How to Get Good Credit At 18
How to Get Good Credit at 18
If you’re a young adult and are wondering how to get good credit at 18 you’ve come to the right place. There are a number of simple things you can do to get good credit and this article discusses the most important of these.
Open a Savings Account
The credit bureaus like to see a history of banking transactions so the first place to start in your quest to find out how to get good credit at 18 is to open a savings account. Try to put a little bit of money into this account on a regular basis, at least once a week, so a history can be built up in a short period of time. Building up your savings will then help you get a secured credit card which is discussed further down this article.
Open a Checking Account
Another useful idea on how to get good credit at 18 is to open a checking account. This is looked upon favourably, as you are seen to be able to manage your money. Put money into it regularly and try to pay for something with a check every couple of weeks. Over a short period of time you will be building a sound financial history
Always make sure you have enough money in the checking account before you draw a check against it. Be aware of the account keeping fees that are charged each month, so you don’t accidently become overdrawn. This would have a detrimental effect on your credit rating which is what you are trying to establish.
Obtain a Secured Credit Card
It is very difficult to obtain a credit card when you’re young and in the midst of building good credit, so the next best thing is to get a secured credit card. What happens here is when you apply for it, the bank keeps whatever you ask for as a credit limit ($500 is always a good limit to use when you’re just starting out) as a security deposit, so that if you default on any payments, the bank doesn’t lose out.
You use your secured credit card just as you would a regular credit card. To build your credit history with this, make sure you use it a couple of times a month to purchase smallish items that you’d normally pay cash for. Then with the cash you would have used to pay for those items, you use to pay the credit card by its due date.
When you’re starting out you just want to use your secured card in this way – don’t go on a spending spree with it – that’s not its purpose. You’re doing this because you wanted to know how to get good credit at 18 and this is one way of doing that and earning brownie points with the credit bureaus. Always make sure your secured credit card is paid by the due date.
Follow these suggestions that address how to get good credit at 18, and you’ll be well on your way to building a good credit history within a short period of time.
