It’s weird to me. I recently applied for a bunch of rentals and my lack of credit has been the main thing holding me back. I have resolved to get a secured credit card but like how tf do people usually build credit anyway? I got denied by several other credit cards.
I also tried to apply for a loan earlier last year for a tow behind camper and even with 10k down on a 16k camper they said no. It’s like they can’t comprehend what I mean when I said I don’t have a credit score…it’s not a bad credit score….it’s that I have literally zero history. I’ve paid for everything in full including my car and the travel trailer that I ended up buying and yet I’m punished for it.
Anyways, how do most people get their name in the system? Is it always with a secured credit card?
In: Economics
I had a total lack of credit, I was able to convince a bank to give me an auto load after providing proof of income. It had an awful high interest rate but that was refinanced
When I was in college in the early 90s, there was a credit card called AT&T MasterCard which I applied and got approved for like $300 credit. Within a couple of months they bumped it up to 500, then 1000 and somewhere during that period I applied and got approved for a Chase Visa with a 3k limit.
Some of my friends had to get secure cards which are guaranteed approval since you give the cash up front. You pay $500 to get a secure card with a $500 limit. Then it works just like a credit card.
Not sure if it’s different now, but when I was in college (late 90’s) there were often people signing up students for credit cards outside the student center — I guess they viewed college students are good credit risk due to future income. I’d also had a card on one of my dad’s accounts since I was 16, to use for gas, clothes shopping, books and such at college, and other essentials, etc. By the time I’d graduated college, I had 2 cards only in my name with about $7,500 in credit limit not counting the card from my dad. Within a year of graduating, one jumped my limit to like $12k. And back then, I was never spending even $1000/mo and always paid off in full.
Set up an account with a credit union and put some money in. Get a secured credit card, which will have a low limit and low interest. Your account can’t go below some percentage of the limit on the card (mine long ago was 75%). Use the credit card instead of the bank card for a certain purchase every month, like car insurance or streaming services, and pay the bill when it comes due. Otherwise pretend the card doesn’t exist. This will build credit without costing your anything.
best scenario is to be added to a credit card under a parent or spouse.
easiest way is to download credit karma and take one of the offers for a credit card.
Credit union is how I started. Got a card through them, used it and paid it off and I was good
When I was 16 I was able to get a small $4000 loan from the bank with my parents as guarantors. I paid it off over a year and that gave me a great starting point.
From then on out, Ive used a credit card to pay for literally everything and then at the end of a pay cycle (weekly, fortnightly or monthly) I pay 90% of it from my cheque account, so that I can have revolving credit yet not pay any interest.
When I was in my late teens, I purchased a hi-fi, then a computer, then a motorbike. I had to take store credit and pay monthly. But as I was young with no credit, my mum stood as guarantor. I was working part time, so she knew I would keep up with the payments.
And thus I began with good credit.
Get a Macy’s credit card. (not sure if they are still easy to get)
I went in when I was younger and bought a home stereo and put in on a macys card. Got a nice discount too. My brother was even smarter and bought the Pioneer SX-780 with the HPM-50 speakers. This was back when Macys sold stereo gear.
This sounds stupid, but see if your job has anything with credit cards..
I got my first credit card (that I kept getting denied for bc no history)
But the second I went through and applied with my company’s method, I was instantly approved..
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