Money Mumbles: Credit Score Building

Coming up, my dad always strongly advised me to never get a credit card. He never went into detail as to why, but I listened up until I was 25. I didn’t have student loans because my mother worked for the university that I attended and obtained my two degrees from.

As I got older and gaining exposure to adult life, I started to panic. Rental car services prefer payment with a major credit card - debit cards require additional verification of on-time payments such as a phone or utility bill. Home and car purchasing require certain credit scores. I had no future! I would never be able to accomplish anything in life!

After my panic, I came back to myself and did some research. I started by checking my credit score - I think it was in the upper 500s. Then I started to see what score was needed to obtain a credit card. I was doomed! My score was not good enough. So I narrowed my search to ‘how to increase your credit score’.

There were so many results! But I came a cross a few people recommending a secure credit card. Basically, you loan your own money to yourself. I found that my bank issues secure cards and I signed up. My first credit card was from myself through my bank. I issued myself $500.

In under a year, my score increased to the 600s. I then applied for a major credit card for flight points. I was approved for $3000. I did not spend more than I could pay at the time of the statement. Over the next couple of years, my score went into the mid-700s and my credit limit increased twice.

I don’t intend to obtain any more credit cards, especially since I have a car payment now. But these two things increased my credit score within a 2 year time frame, with patience and discipline.