Credit Scores & Credit History…?

Max: Credit Scores & Credit History…?
Hi, um… I want to raise my credit score, but I have a severely “limited credit history” (I’m a college student, lol)

How long do I need to build up my credit before my credit score has enough “credit history” for my score to actually matter (and by actually matter I mean for me to be able to do anything that requires credit, like get a credit card or a loan or even get an apartment, etc)

Right now I’d need a cosigner for almost everything, so I want to know more about how credit scores work… I found out what my score was a while ago and its “okay” but technically also “blank”…

I have student loan debts, but I can’t afford to start making payments yet (I’m still in school) and I’m trying to find a decent-paying job… SO I’m trying to figure out, on average, how long my “credit history” needs to be before I can actually start using and building my credit…

Any help is appreciated.

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Thanks mar c… that’s what I was thinking about doing (as soon as my job situation is “stable” enough, lol) and it doesn’t really matter how high the interest rates are, because I don’t intend on using the cards for “credit” anyway… just use them like a debit card & pay them off completely before the billing cycle is done… (got that tip from my “CI” teacher in high school, lol)

The tricky part is knowing how long I need to work at it… I mean, should I do it for 6 months before trying to get an apartment to rent? (credit check required, lol) or a year? 2 years? etc…

I hope to have a job soon enough so that I can work the whole time I’m in college, I have another 4 or 5 years (I’m crazy about school like that, lol) and I could be building my credit that whole time, how cool would that be? BUT I’m guessing I’ll probably want to move OUT of the dorms at some point, lol
Thanks bdancer222! That’s the kind of answer I was looking for! 🙂

So 2 years is a good “starting point”? Okay then, now I have something to go off of, lol… So at least 2 years of building my credit before I “can use it”… that means spending this upcoming year at home (finishing my associates that is, oddly enough, unrelated to my eventual major) and living in dorms the year after (for going toward my bachelors) and then I could rent a place in the area after that… (UNLESS I just rented a room in a place, but I’m too OCD to share my space that much & let whoever is the “official” name on the lease ‘own me’)

Answers and Views:

Answer by mar c
1-get a 200.00 secured credit card….
charge 20.00 a month and pay monthly;;;never be late..
2-get a store credit card…200.00
charge 20.00 a month and pay montly…never be late…

that will get you going…

Answer by bdancer222
It takes YEARS to build a good credit history. There is no quick fix.

You really need at least 24 months of consistent, on-time payment history. Use your existing credit cards for small purchases and pay in full every month. You have to use the cards to build history.