18 &| over with credit issues
Okay I've mean meaning to do this for so long..
For those of you are just graduating high school (or college for that matter) you've probably been getting alot of requests to invest in a credit card.
And when I say investment that's exactly what it is; aprs finance fees to preserve your financial status in the future to get the house/ car of your desires.
I must warn you do not get sucked in to the credit thing as many have done. Where they see this gigantic limit far beyond their means and figure hey it's only $15 a month I can buy that Louis Bag.... WRONG. If you don't have it don't spend it which is Rule 1 of the game..
|Rule 2|
Do not use credit cards to pay things off like tuition unless you have ZERO percent apr AND you know you are going to have this money within 6 months. Most of the time the apr lasts for a year but allow yourself time for error just in case you lose your job.
|Rule 3|
Pay on TIME. It is so easy to get charged $40 for something you basically can't dispute. Put a reminder 2 days before payment is due (if you do it online) or do like I do pay my credit card off everytime I get paid So I don't have to worry about a late fee. Trust me it's ugly.
|Rule 4|
We are young and should get everything for free. My first capitalone card was zero percent apr and after a year i dropped my old card and got a new one for another zero percent apr. After that my american express card was 0% don't rush to get a credit card..(yes you need a great credit score to get an amex these days and if you have one and your credit is not up to par they will reduce your credit limit WITHOUT your knowledge/consent) Make them SEEK you. That's how you build your credit score.
|Rule 5|
DO NOT let your debt exceed 6 months. This means you do not have the funds to pay it and IT IS documented on your credit report.
|Rule 6|
Take care of delinquent accounts ASAP. I've been in collections 3 times. 2/3 are settled and I settled at nearly 50% discount off of it. I DO NOT advise you do that with credit cards. My collections were with paypal; tmobile and cablevision. It is true that things stay on your credit report for 8-10 years but be advised we are young; if you are having a despute with a company (i.e. tmobile charged you for shit you didn't use don't pay it; eventually they will be willing to ask you what you want to pay for) and you are feeling very adamant about the situation as I was DONT PAY IT.
|Rule 7|
Love our family, Love our parents but their credit is fucked up for a reason DO NOT put your family on your credit card. and unless you are completely certain they will pay you back DO NOT charge stuff on YOUR card for THEM. This is very important and I cannot stress this enough.. This situation causes more debt than the first 5 put together
|Rule 8|
If your debt exceeds 2,000 and your purchases consists of mainly clothes and food.. CUT YOUR CREDIT CARDS and seek help especially if you don't make half of that in one pay check.
|Rule 9|
Very Very important. DO NOT BORROW CASH FROM CREDIT CARDS. if you have a zero percent apr THIS DOES NOT APPLY TO CASH ADVANCES. SO DON'T DO IT.
|Rule 10|
Some cards do have annual fees. BE WARY OF THIS. American Express is one of them. Before you get a card make sure you ask does this have an annual fee save yourself a lot of headaches.
As for my personal recommendation i do not recommend having credit cards from banks; as their apr is super high and don't really welcome people with no credit. Capitalone to me is the best for people starting off. And out of visa, discover mc and AMEX;
amex has the best customer service HANDS DOWN.
Remember these rules and you'll be taking advantage of the credit companies and not the other way around.
Thanks to the personal finance blog for publishing this blurb about smart credit!
For those of you are just graduating high school (or college for that matter) you've probably been getting alot of requests to invest in a credit card.
And when I say investment that's exactly what it is; aprs finance fees to preserve your financial status in the future to get the house/ car of your desires.
I must warn you do not get sucked in to the credit thing as many have done. Where they see this gigantic limit far beyond their means and figure hey it's only $15 a month I can buy that Louis Bag.... WRONG. If you don't have it don't spend it which is Rule 1 of the game..
|Rule 2|
Do not use credit cards to pay things off like tuition unless you have ZERO percent apr AND you know you are going to have this money within 6 months. Most of the time the apr lasts for a year but allow yourself time for error just in case you lose your job.
|Rule 3|
Pay on TIME. It is so easy to get charged $40 for something you basically can't dispute. Put a reminder 2 days before payment is due (if you do it online) or do like I do pay my credit card off everytime I get paid So I don't have to worry about a late fee. Trust me it's ugly.
|Rule 4|
We are young and should get everything for free. My first capitalone card was zero percent apr and after a year i dropped my old card and got a new one for another zero percent apr. After that my american express card was 0% don't rush to get a credit card..(yes you need a great credit score to get an amex these days and if you have one and your credit is not up to par they will reduce your credit limit WITHOUT your knowledge/consent) Make them SEEK you. That's how you build your credit score.
|Rule 5|
DO NOT let your debt exceed 6 months. This means you do not have the funds to pay it and IT IS documented on your credit report.
|Rule 6|
Take care of delinquent accounts ASAP. I've been in collections 3 times. 2/3 are settled and I settled at nearly 50% discount off of it. I DO NOT advise you do that with credit cards. My collections were with paypal; tmobile and cablevision. It is true that things stay on your credit report for 8-10 years but be advised we are young; if you are having a despute with a company (i.e. tmobile charged you for shit you didn't use don't pay it; eventually they will be willing to ask you what you want to pay for) and you are feeling very adamant about the situation as I was DONT PAY IT.
|Rule 7|
Love our family, Love our parents but their credit is fucked up for a reason DO NOT put your family on your credit card. and unless you are completely certain they will pay you back DO NOT charge stuff on YOUR card for THEM. This is very important and I cannot stress this enough.. This situation causes more debt than the first 5 put together
|Rule 8|
If your debt exceeds 2,000 and your purchases consists of mainly clothes and food.. CUT YOUR CREDIT CARDS and seek help especially if you don't make half of that in one pay check.
|Rule 9|
Very Very important. DO NOT BORROW CASH FROM CREDIT CARDS. if you have a zero percent apr THIS DOES NOT APPLY TO CASH ADVANCES. SO DON'T DO IT.
|Rule 10|
Some cards do have annual fees. BE WARY OF THIS. American Express is one of them. Before you get a card make sure you ask does this have an annual fee save yourself a lot of headaches.
As for my personal recommendation i do not recommend having credit cards from banks; as their apr is super high and don't really welcome people with no credit. Capitalone to me is the best for people starting off. And out of visa, discover mc and AMEX;
amex has the best customer service HANDS DOWN.
Remember these rules and you'll be taking advantage of the credit companies and not the other way around.
Thanks to the personal finance blog for publishing this blurb about smart credit!
Posted by rana at 7/25/2009 6:50 PM 
Categories: worldly shit
Tags: high school graduates credit limits american express tmobile capital one finance citibank card visa paying on time chase card cash advances college credit cards hsbc card how not to be in debt mastercard credit cards 18 year olds settle debt
Categories: worldly shit
Tags: high school graduates credit limits american express tmobile capital one finance citibank card visa paying on time chase card cash advances college credit cards hsbc card how not to be in debt mastercard credit cards 18 year olds settle debt
student credit card holders should learn how to manage their accounts well. Think twice before using credit cards to purchase unnecessary things so to prevent debt problem with the banks.
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absolutely! I don't think there are enough available resources for students to make educated decisions. I think credit cards should be apart of a class cirriculum required to graduate, i.e. a personal finance class!
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lots of credit card companies offer credit cards to students. Young adults who want to apply should learn how to become financially responsible and should choose a better bank with low interest rate and with good benefits.
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