Should I Build My Credit?

[Lathan]

Don't close the account.

Why?

Do you mean leave it open and don't use it? Or just keep using it along with whatever other card I get?

 

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[jon.a]

Why?

Do you mean leave it open and don't use it? Or just keep using it along with whatever other card I get?

Leave it open and put it away.

 

[DeletedUser394]

Why?

Do you mean leave it open and don't use it? Or just keep using it along with whatever other card I get?

It dings your credit.

Don't have to ever use the card, or you can use it every day. Makes little difference, just don't close the account.

 

[livegrowfree]

The fico score is partly based on how long you've had credit. So keeping your oldest credit card account open would be wise.

Keep your utilization under 25% and you'll see the score grow.

And if you do apply for a new card, make sure you do not apply within a minimum of 6 months to another card. Accepted or rejected.

 

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[Under-Dog]

Don't close the account, age of credit affects your score. The older your credit the better. I believe the national average is like 5 years 11 months. Use it or don't just leave the account open.

 

[Hooked]

Don't close it. But don't completely stop using it either, inactive accounts are bad for credit too.

 

[Lathan]

inactive accounts are bad for credit too.

This is what I was wondering about. Kind of silly. So for the people on here who mentioned they have several cards they have to constantly use all of them in order to keep their credit good?

 

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[DeletedUser394]

This is what I was wondering about. Kind of silly. So for the people on here who mentioned they have several cards they have to constantly use all of them in order to keep their credit good?

I've got 5 right now. It's easy to lose track of what's going where, etc.

But nothing bad happens if you don't use one of your cards for a month or two or longer.

Credit utilization is far more important (ie the amount of your credit you use every month). lower the better.

 

[Ron Dee]

It would be great if there was a once and for all 100% accurate source for what it's taken to into account on your score and what isn't. It's hard to know what to believe.

 

[TonyStark]

Building credit using my parents credit currently - called 'piggybacking'.

 

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[Danyer]

Building credit using my parents credit currently - called 'piggybacking'.

My mother had me on a few of her credit cards (she has an excellent credit score so I didn't mind), that helped me tremendously as I didn't actually have to build credit, I literally had a score in the mid 700's before even starting. As long as your parents are responsible, I certainly recommend having them doing this for you if you're still in your teens-early 20's.

 

[TonyStark]

My mother had me on a few of her credit cards (she has an excellent credit score so I didn't mind), that helped me tremendously as I didn't actually have to build credit, I literally had a score in the mid 700's before even starting. As long as your parents are responsible, I certainly recommend having them doing this for you if you're still in your teens-early 20's.

Awesome. Yeah, it's something I'm just learning about and came across that through some internet searches.

 

[Michael Burgess]

It would be great if there was a once and for all 100% accurate source for what it's taken to into account on your score and what isn't. It's hard to know what to believe.

http://affordanything.com/2015/04/14/how-to-hack-your-credit-score/

There IS an article definitively showing how your credit score is created / updated... it's a good read!

Like mentioned by other people in this thread, try to keep your consumer-based debts to a minimum. Having a bad credit score will definitely cost you in interest, lost opportunities, etc. It's better to pay with cash when you can, but having credit available is an awesome privilege. Be careful with it!

 

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