How A Teenager Can Build A Credit Score From Nothing
July 13th, 2009 . by Learn For FreeSo many things depend on your credit rating that it is good to get started in building it up at an early age. As early as 18 or younger, you should be doing certain acts to build your credibility with the credit agencies. Don’t fret, as the process is actually simple and in as little as a year you can obtain a credit rating of 700 or more.
The best thing you can do as a student is to remember that any bills and responsibilities you take on must be paid on time. There are many metrics that go into rating your credit, and on-time payments are really one of the few you can influence in the beginning. Getting a poor grade early on due to a missed payment will make creditors hesitate next time you need a loan.
A credit line that is many years old is more trusted than a new one. You won’t be able to change that since you are just starting out. It hurts even more because the one loan you are likely to take, the student loan, won’t be paid upon until you graduate. During your college career, you could perhaps take out a small loan so that in the meantime you are building credit.
The number of credit lines you own is another factor. As a younger adult, you won’t be able to open multiple accounts for legitimate reasons. If you were to operate a business, you could get a business account to help prove your worth. Getting married also increases your worth in this respect. Unfortunately for young ones, neither option is common.
Get a credit card and start making small purchases with it. A credit card that saves you money on gas, for instance, is a nice investment. Just make sure that you pay off your bill each month so that you don’t accumulate any debt in the process. Once credit agencies log a few years of good credit card use, your credit rating will climb drastically. There’s nothing more valuable than a youngster with a sense of responsibility with credit cards.
Credit ratings can take months to truly change a significant amount. Because of that fact, you should only check up on your credit rating once every 2-3 months. Credit agencies will actually penalize your score if you or other agencies ping your credit rating too often, since it can be seen as a sign that you are overly worried about your rating.
Closing Comments
Credit is what the world revolves around. You can’t help this matter by doing anything but staying responsible and trying to do your best with monthly payments. In time you will see your hard work pay off!
Learn more about FICO Credit Report and FICO Credit Scores.