Making the transition from high school to college means you're in store for some significant changes in your life. Among those changes is the need to establish credit and build a solid credit score.
Secured credit cards work just like regular credit cards, and you make purchases and payments as usual. But there's one big distinction — with a secured card, you have money in your account already in case you cannot repay the balance.
The minimum payment trap with credit cards is one that can be incredibly difficult to get out of. Some might even refer to it as indentured servitude. Your best option is to avoid it altogether by never falling into it. It might be hard and will certainly require some sacrifices at first.
These days it’s easier than ever to make purchases. With most items only requiring a click, tap, or swipe of a credit card, you’re able to quickly purchase an item without ever thinking twice about it.
Credit card balance transfers can be useful when used strategically and in combination with other efforts to reduce your overall debt and total interest paid. However, depending on the situation, they may not always the best decision to assist with credit card debt.
While it may be difficult to predict exactly when you’ll encounter medical expenses, the simple fact is they are inevitable. Everyone will have to go through the stress of dealing with medical issues and the costs that come with them at some point.
Transitioning from high school to college is a major milestone in a teenager’s growth, and it brings many changes. Some of those changes are financially related, and one of the questions that both teens and their parents often ask is whether they should have a credit card in college.
Balance transfers can be amazing tools for helping you maximize credit card point potential, reduce your interest rates, and pay off your credit card balances faster when used wisely. However, they can easily become crutches that do little to address your debt and only rearrange it, like pushing unpleasant vegetables around on your plate rather than eating them.
While it’s important to begin building your credit early, it’s even more important to build it responsibly. As early as 18, you’ll start to receive credit card offers. While these offers can be tempting, understanding all the details before accepting them is crucial.
It’s always a good plan to set some money aside to use as a down payment when financing a new or “new to you” car. As a general rule, you’ll want to pay 20 percent of the vehicle’s value as a down payment for a new car and 10 percent as a down payment for a used vehicle.
