Credit Cards

If you're 18 and you know it clap your hands!... I really mean it! You can now smoke, vote, and be out as late as you want without police sending you home in heavily curfew-ed areas. But another good point is that you can now own a shiny new credit card!

I know some of you losers are probably like 'OMG a credit card!?', 'Not me uh uh!' Well your parents would probably agree. Whimps. But the credit card is your friend, especially for future opportunities, like jobs, buying a car, renting or buying your first home. There's many more things credit card affects in a beneficial way, just as long as you are good with it. But before getting one the rules should be addressed.

1. A good card for a college student. Oh please don't go for those American Express or those bootleg looking 'First National Bank USA' ones. Basically the ones you get in the mail, those are the ones that get you with ridiculous interest amounts. Best ones are found through well sought out research. Chase and Citibank offer college students cards with O% APR (For a certain amount of time—For you to get your feet wet a bit.) The best one is to look for the one with the longest amount 0% APR.
   
2. Pay it off quick. The point is to build, many people confuse paying off credit over a long period of time will surely build credit so why not buy something expensive and pay little by little? Wrong! Buying should be as if you are using a debit card, so buy what you think you have in the bank and pay it off and build your credit just as well.
   
3. Have a means of paying it off. No source of income now or not sure of the future? Then don't charge it. Your credit card won't close out. You won't lower your credit if there's no money to pay. So better safe than sorry.
   

Saying these steps is easy to say following is my problem! Although I am in great standing (As in I'm making my payments with large amounts if I have in my account.) As young adults credit card companies target us because we are more likely to not follow these guidelines.

*** OBAMA'S NEW CREDIT BILL HAS CHANGED THE AGE OF GETTING A CREDIT CARD TO THE AGE OF 21, UNLESS YOU COSIGN WITH A PARENT OR GUARDIAN.

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