So, I've come to the point in life where I have a steady income stream, and feel it is time to get a credit card to complete my financial independance, But ofcourse im completely new to the market and would love if massassi could give me a kick in the right direction.

Any tips?

Why do you need a credit card...

Um, aren't you like 15?

I don't think you'll be able to get a credit card from Visa or Mastercard at such a young age. Google lemonparty, I think they can help.

You'll need to have a job for at least 6 months, and you'll most likely end up with a student credit card to start off. It'll take about another 6 months for you to develop any sort of credit score.

Go to Chase. I got my first card from them, never had a problem. Get the +1 card. Don't worry about interest rates right now because its your first card, no matter what they'll suck, just pay them on time and you'll be fine.

Well, I expected assbaggery, so eh.
Also im 17 there smartguy, learn 2 arithmatic.

E:Oh, as soon as I post this I get something usefull, thanks.

You have no idea how hard I LOL'd at this

I got my first card and then just paid it off in full every month for a year, then got a second card with substantially higher credit limit.

Would you feel better if I just said "I want it so I can get a Time and National Geographic subscription, and so that I get steam games without asking mom"?

You just totally fail at sounding even remotely mature. You do that whole "Look, I'm being an adult!" thing that I did when I was like 13- and it's really bugging me.

"I read Time and National Geographic! That's mature! Fiscal responsibility! Hurrah!"

I remember a couple months ago, at least when you were annoying because you were just annoying- it was legitimate. You didn't turn into this 'useful' person overnight so stop pretending please.

I don't have anything against you, but I don't like when people try to put on horrible facades.

I like national geographic, it's interesting, I also like time, it's interesting.

...I seriously thought you were 15. Sheesh.

TE: But see- you're lying. That's the problem.

"Hurr hurr because I didn't like something when I was that age NOBODY CAN"
Shut the **** up.

No, it's because you've been a complete TURD since you've joined these forums- and ALL OF A SUDDEN out of thin air you start trying to act 'mature' but it's actually twice as turdish considering we call all see right through it.

Get a debit card that works as credit card that's attached to your checking account. Credit cards are a bad idea.

If you wanted to be mature and become 'financially independent' you'd be talking to your parents or calling up banks, you wouldn't be asking a bunch of nerdy, overtly horny, 20 - 30 year old douchebags like us for advice.

credit cards have nothing to do with 'financial independence'

they have everything to do with finanical servitude, however.

Free, why is it we are agreeing on more things now? I noticed the exact same thing in the OP.

TE, there are a lot of people here that believe having credit cards are a good thing. That by paying off the balance every month you will avoid interest and be able to get more and more credit (although, if you're going to pay everything off every month why would you need more credit to begin with). There is some logic to that but mostly it relies on the same principles that lenders rely on. Lenders love to extend credit to people who love to be in debt.

You are at a wonderful point in your life where, instead of doing the normal thing and going into debt, you can start making wise financial decisions without having to recover from any poor ones. You don't need a credit rating. The best credit score is 0. That means you have no record of being in debt to anyone. When you do need a loan for a house the lender just uses manual underwriting to determine your ability to repay the loan.

However, if you are going to do the normal thing, look for a card with no annual fee. Don't worry about the interest rate because having no credit rating means you aren't going to get the best one anyway. It could be that a bank will require you to use a secured credit card. I wouldn't do that but if you are dead set on "independence" you may choose to. Never use the card to make a purchase that you wouldn't make with cash, if you could make it with cash, and you should be well on your way towards a higher and higher credit score.

The two or three things we agree on have coincidentally shown up as topics in the past few days.

Open a student checking account (anyone can do it, but you might need a co-signer). Get the free credit card w/ no annual fees that comes with it. Use your debit card for everything. Don't be stupid with the credit card (don't make purchases you can't pay off in a month).

Wells Fargo is pretty good.

Thank you guys, Some very useful advice in this thread
Sajn can go **** himself.

Yeah, seriously SAJN. You're worse than TE.

im on a boat

Spruce, if you ever post that, or anything remotely useless like that again, you're getting a lengthy ban. Stop it.

And like Vin said, knock it off SAJN, it got old after the first post.

I would first advise attempting to get a Line of Credit on your account first. Of course, this might prove to be more difficult in these harsh financial times considering you likely have a low-ish income even if steady, and the fact that banks prefer to hand out credit cards. Still if you can get one of these, they have lower interest rate.

If you are trying to build your name, get a low-max credit card (500$ if possible) and use it to fuel your car or buy groceries and make sure you pay it back every month. It sort of defeats the purpose of the credit card but it will build you an excellent name.

In terms of banks, I personally prefer CIBC which you likely have access to in Edmonton. They have excellent service and usually offer interesting deals.

Whatever you do, always be mindful of the interest rate and the best advice anyone can give you is don't spend money that you don't have. Use the credit card in case of emergencies or to build a name as I suggested above. There will come a time where you do need to buy a fridge or oven or other appliances or go to the dentist or get medical attention and you will want to put it on your line of credit / credit card. Just make sure you can then handle the monthly payments.

There is no reason to be mindful of the interest rate if you are paying the account off in full during the grace period. Most of the reasons you cite for using a credit card are the same things he should be planning on having emergency funds set aside in savings for. The best advice anyone can give is exactly what you just said it is above followed by saving money for unforeseen circumstances.

This stuff is too easy to start when you're seventeen. If you fall into the typical credit trap that most people do, you'll spend years trying to get out of debt. Just look at the recent $20,000 thread and how many people said they would use the money to get out of debt. And that is considering the relatively young age of the average member here. If you act responsibly and live within your means now you can have true financial independence far earlier in life.

I'm simply not here trying to change his mind, only offering him advice if he continues down this path. While I agree with what you say, it really only works out best in a perfect world. It works out mighty fine on paper, but in experience its more difficult to achieve. Life does not always offer a chance to save up. I'm the prime example of that : I got out of school with a career where there were all too few job openings, and the majority of them payed extremely poorly. Thankfully, I was able to get an excellent job, but was forced to move into another city then and there before I had a chance to save up more than 2000$. I had to buy various appliances (washer/dryer/fridge/stove) and at least the very basic of furniture. Obviously that built up a bill higher than the 2000$ I had saved. I didn't have a choice. Well, I did: I could have lived on crap appliances and furniture and feel miserable for years while I built up the money.

Between that and a 13000$ car, I do have some debt. I'm 24 years old and currently owe around 7000$, I'm not shy to say it. I've been perfectly happy with my choices and have lived several happy and comfortable years. In about a year and a half the last 7000$ will be payed off and I very much hope I'll be able to save up. Still, I've survived so far without it and while being in debt does have its drawbacks (hello, interest!) its not as devilish as some make it out to be. By that, I dont mean to encourage people to spend the money, I only mean to say you're not gonna bloody rot in hell if you have a little debt.

You just need to be smart and keep an eye on your money and expenses. Don't be a moron and go buy **** you don't need with the credit card left and right. Then you definately WILL end up feeling miserable and spending years trying to get out of debt. And at a young age at that. Its terrible.

Ok, those last few posts were long so I skipped 'em... :downs:

Some people can get a credit card, use it infrequently and pay it off every month. The other 99% get a credit card, rack up a huge amount of debt on it (some slowly, others quickly) and pay extortionist-style percentages every month.

There are alternatives to credit cards. Don't get one.

And yes, I'm in the 99%.

Jep, generally I don't disagree with what you are saying except the perfect world remark. Not getting into debt works better in an imperfect world. Generally, though, people are simply impatient. I too have fallen into and participated in the debt trap. I put $1500 down on my first "real" car and paid it off in four years. Had I just bought a $1500 car. And saved the rest I could have bought more car for less a short time down the road. My high credit score has enabled much credit to be thrown my way. And I have used it. I have a lot of nice things and two mortgages on two reasonable homes but had I waited for luxuries and other things and saved and invested the money I could have hundreds of thousands of dollars right now. Boy, I should could buy a lot of nice things with that kind of cash.

Life is full of choices and when you make choices that fall within your financial means, odds are you find financial prosperity much sooner.

I've had a credit card for 5 years. Not once have I ever payed interest or late fees on it. I've always paid it in full.

Its definately good to save up for the future, but its also important to be able to live in the moment. We're all too fragile creatures to think we'll all live to enjoy the fruit of our labor once we retire. I know way too many people who worked all their lives only to die with a week of retirement, or before they even saw that possibility.

Matty: Yeah, me too. I use my credit card for almost everything, but mainly just out of convenience (e.g. don't have to carry around cash), and then pay it off at the end of the month because I could have just paid it up front anyways.

I don't really use it for "credit" (i.e. I never buy stuff I don't have the money for anyways), I guess ... just as a "laziness tab" or something

Exactly. And unlike debit, it actually boosts your credit score.

So long story short:

If you can't pay for it in cash, don't pay for it by credit card.

Find a bank that offers a Visa Debit/Credit card and also offers an overdraft protection loan. This is generally an upto $500 loan in the event that you unintentionally overdraw or an emergency arises that you need the extra money for. I don't think you'll run into any emergencies to where you need more then $500 at your age.

I don't have a Credit Card and frankly don't see myself getting one anytime soon. I have a house and a car. I also have a small personal loan that I got to pay off some medical expenses with. I have a $5,000+ credit line with the bank at a very low interest rate (compared to credit cards). Why in the world would I need a credit card? So I can be as irresponsible as 95% of the rest of the middle class American population? I don't think so.

Avoid credit cards, is my advice.

People who preach about the evils of credit cards simply aren't responsible/don't trust themselves enough to have one and seem to think that because they can't control themselves, then other people obviously can't either.

That is definitely the way to go but as someone said above kind of defeats the purpose of a credit card. The purpose, of course, being to make the bank money from the interest and fees they charge.

As anti-credit as I have now become I have four things that I will continue to keep and use some card or cards for. Gas and resturant purchases would be two. Of course a debit card would work fine for this except when you swipe a card either at the pump or when the waiter/ss does prior to bringing the check it places a hold on a certain amount over the actual purchase to account for the unknown amount about to be dispensed or to include a tip. When the purchase is completed the hold is removed but it can be that it remains in effect for days. If you are using a debit card and for some reason your checking account is very close to zero this could cause bounce checks. I also prefer to use a credit card for online purchases, especially if you happen to make a purchase from a not so widely known company. This will help insulate your primary banking accounts from fraud. Lastly would be a linked card to your checking account with overdraft protection. This could help prevent bounced checks in the event that someone does clean out your checking account or some other error transpires.

What about the people that don't go for credit cards because they don't really see the point?

[Damn you wookie and your ninjapost!]

It's not that the cards are evil it is that it is a generally foolish financial choice taken by most people. It is entirely possible to use credit cards and pay off the balance every month. Doing so can result in taking advantage of the many perks some of these cards offer.

Look at it this way. Credit Cards are the house, the banks are the dealer, and we are the gamblers. Some people win, most lose and the more so the more they get sucked in. The dealer pays out occaisionally but the house always wins.

There's a reason Credit Cards, and financing in general, are the most profitable service companies provide.

But, I assume, he would put them in the same category because they aren't smart enough to realize just how much better off they would be with a credit card. Actually, they wouldn't fit his scenario at all because it's doubtful that people indifferent to credit cards would "preach the evils".