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<p>Of course. Hence, why I’m talking about overextension of credit in general, the root cause of most any economic bust. Speculating borrowers will always trigger such an event, but obviously, the financial professionals decide credit availability. So who is really to blame? It gets complicated…</p>
<p>As far as I know, you tend to have more buyer protection when using a credit card. For example, I bought a plane ticket on the now-defunct airline, SkyBus. I was refunded by the credit card company, who subsequently went after SkyBus looking for money to reimburse all the tickets bought with their cards. Don’t know if the credit card ever got their money, but I got mine back.</p>
<p>As a college student, all you need to do is spend like five dollars a month and pay off the minimum payment, though obviously you should pay the balance. This will help build your credit. Keep in mind that a factor in your credit score is how long you’ve had credit, so don’t close your first credit card until you’re score is firmly established.</p>
<p>i totally agree with “springisintheair”</p>
<p>So how exactly does a credit score work? Is it how many times you use the card and pay off bills on time or is it how long you do it and have a credit card? Say I use it to buy a $70 shirt every month, and pay it off on time for a year. Versus me buying 10 $7 things every month and paying the bills off. Since I made more purchases in scenario two,
Would that increase my credit score further than making a smaller amount of purchases with the same amount of money? Also, how much of a affect would making a $100 purchase every month for 4 years and paying the bills of in time have on my credit score. Will it increase dramatically or slightly?</p>
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<p>I don’t much about Credit Score, but I’ve heard that it builds on your credit history and that’s the measure of how responsible you are with money. I’m sure there must be TONS of material on CC about this since its a hot topic.</p>
<p>@ Chuy,</p>
<p>Can we get a credit and a debit card on the same bank account? We get sms notifications on account details, right? Whenever you think you’re close to an overdraft, just use your credit card. </p>
<p>Then again, what would be the point of all that complication? If you think you are responsible enough to check your account balance frequently there won’t be any worry of getting in debt, right? It gets confusing here. 
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<p>talha, a credit card isnt linked to a bank account, but the bank could issue you a creidt card.</p>
<p>moonnite, lots of things affect your credit score. this would include how long you had your credit card, if you pay in full every month, if banks and stuff pull a hard inquiry on you it lowers your credit score, etc</p>
<p>Another thing to watch out for is the age at which you can obtain a credit card is changing this february (ish?). It’s become 21 unless your parents cosign or you prove you have a stable income (something similar to that). However if you get a card before hand then you are grand fathered in and get to keep your card.</p>
<p>I got a credit card that was soon upgraded to a 7K limit. </p>
<p>I think I’m going to buy something cool, won’t pay, wait 7 years, and start over like nothing ever happened. :)</p>
<p>It astounds me that people don’t have a savings fund for emergencies to completely bypass HAVING to use a credit card. As a general rule, it’s a good idea to keep at least three months worth of rent and bills in savings. If you’re a college student then it’s a good idea to save for unexpected expenses (books, car trouble, food, tickets, ect). That way if you do have to buy a $300 book on the spot, you’ll be able to afford it without going in debt.</p>
<p>Unless your emergency is somewhere in the few thousands, I don’t see why a credit card is ever necessary.</p>
<p>Most college students don’t have enough income to save up 3 months of rent while living above the poverty line.</p>
<p>I’ve had a credit card since I started college. My dad cosigned it though and pays the bills. I only use it to buy books and tickets home, so it’s stuff my dad said he would pay for anyway. My parents still told me to have a credit card just incase. You never know if something crazy happens and you need to charge $1000.</p>
<p>@moonnite300
i’ve been told that in college, the best way to build your score is to have a balance each month (buy something with the card) and pay it off on time. amount or frequency of purchases shouldn’t matter at your spending level or credit limit. just buying a carton of eggs each month will build your score. you can’t really bump it any more than this.</p>
<p>one thing to look at is ‘overdraft protection.’ i have a credit card issued through my bank as well as checking and savings. if i overdraft my checking, it just charges my credit card (you can usually set up overdraft protection with any line of credit). assuming i have the money to pay it off (money from my savings account, another account, or in my wallet), i won’t get charged anything for the overdraft, assuming i pay my credit card bill on time.</p>
<p>I had a credit card as a high schooler…bad experience. My parents foot the bill and I didn’t use it very responsibly. I stopped using it and deactivated it about a year ago…now I just have a debit card, but prefer to make purchases with cash whenever possible.</p>
<p>I applied (and was approved) for my first credit card as soon as I turned 18. Had been financially responsible all my life, and since getting my job, I’d amassed quite a savings with my bank, so they approved me for a pretty good card (in terms of limit and interest rate). My thought process is that since I only buy things I can front the cash for as it is, why not just put it on the credit card, which then automatically gets paid off in full every month from my checking account.</p>
<p>It builds my credit, while also leaving the money in my checking account until payment is due, which yields a small amount of interest.</p>
<p>A lot of my friends find that no matter how responsible they are, spending money on a credit card is “easier” than on a debit card. When the money doesn’t get transferred from your account every transaction, you think less about the fact that you’re spending it. I hope I get over this, but we’ll have to see.</p>
<p>^I had a big problem with my debit card one summer. I had my card for over a year and never had problems with it before, but I was working two jobs at that point and thought I was spending much less than I was earning (I was basically spending almost all of what I earned). I realized the best way to curb my spending was to buy as much stuff as I could with cash, and to only withdraw $50 a week at most. I didn’t use this rule for buying groceries (dont want to be on a strict budget for eating) but I found most weeks I would have plenty of cash left over. It’s tough to spend money on useless stuff if you have to fork over the actual cash rather than just swipiing a card.</p>