Taking Credit to College

If you’re a college student, there’s no time like the present to begin establishing your credit history. The spending habits you have now will either help you or haunt you for the rest of your life. To be successful, you need to learn to make and stick to a budget, and you need to learn how to use credit wisely. Doing this will ensure that you don’t have to worry about graduation and drowning in unsecured debt.

-If possible, get a card while you are just starting school. Banks are far more likely to approve a new student for a charge card- they don’t worry too much about you defaulting on your loan, because they work under the assumption that your parents will be there to pay your debts. However, this isn’t the case a lot of times, so it’s important that you use your credit responsibly.

-The college years are when you are most likely to be approved for a charge card. After a person graduates from college, it becomes a lot harder to qualify for a card. Of course, this doesn’t mean that you should go insane and get a lot of cards- start out with one or two cards to help you establish your payment history and your credit. Getting too many cards too fast can negatively impact your credit score, which can make it harder to get loans for cars and homes.

-Once you’ve established a history, you can apply for gas cards or retail store cards. If you can’t get an unsecured card, these cards make a great way to further establish good credit. After about a year of paying on these, you can generally qualify for an unsecured card. Secured cards are also an option, and they are a hassle free way to start credit history. You are almost guaranteed to qualify, and deposits can be as low as a couple hundred dollars.

Remember that your financial future depends on your responsible use of credit. If you take the proper steps now and get advice about your credit card debt, you can build a good credit history that will follow you for years to come.