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Helping Bro get some credit

November 19th, 2013 at 01:38 am

My lil bro is 22 and at this time in his life hasn't had much need at all for credit. He is done with school (fire fighter) and working full time at a hospital until he can get a job in the fire fighter field. Since he has no debt, he has very minimal bills (rent, food, cell phone etc) and he has no interest in having a credit card, but I did tell him he should get one to build credit so if he needs it for a car or a mortgage in the future he would have some credit built up. He had applied for a few cards, but wasn't approved (because at this time he literally has nothing on his credit report). So I found a card for him that I thought would work and applied for him. He was approved and so he agreed to have the card mailed to me and I will use it occasionally for gas purchases and pay it off each month to help him build up his credit. I told him he could do this himself and just pick one thing a month (gas, groceries, etc) to charge and pay it off each month, but he is not comfortable with the whole concept of the credit card, and would prefer I just do that for him. Which I think is great that he is just up front and says how he feels about it and that he doesn't want to get in any kind of a mess with credit cards. So I will start using the card this week and get a score built up for him. Smile

5 Responses to “Helping Bro get some credit”

  1. snafu Says:
    1384827790

    Sorry, I disagree. DB has chosen to put his head in the sand and pretend that credit doesn't exist. Not smart, I wonder why he choses to put this limitation on himself. More employers are checking credit reports for short listed, potential employees. Using credit responsibly is one more step in the process of becoming an adult. Should he ever need to book a flight he needs the experience of using a CC. I hope you can convince him to build a credit score.

  2. Banker Gurl Says:
    1384829688

    He knows how to use a credit card. He just doesn't want to use it on a regular basis. The agreement we have set up will help him build his credit, as this way his credit score will be going up every month. If he needed the card for any reason he could certainly use it. He isn't "putting his head in the sand" or he wouldn't have brought up the idea to me in the first place of getting a card. I think he is being very responsible by addressing that he needs credit, but doesn't necessarily need/want a credit card at this time in his life. He has a debit card that is connected to his checking account, he can use this if he needs to book a flight or online purchase. He doesn't want to spending any money he doesn't have because he doesn't want any debt.
    As always, I appreciate the comments/suggestions. Smile

  3. HouseHopeful Says:
    1384867255

    I can understand why you are doing it, but I do think that he wants to build his own credit, then he should undertake using the card. If it is not a priority for him, then nobody needs to use the card for him. You said he has no interest in credit, right?

  4. Banker Gurl Says:
    1384877746

    I said "no interest in having a credit card". He sees all this kids his age, and in their 30s and 40s and 50s who have massive credit card debt. He wants to be like his sister and have zero from the get go. I am just using the card once a month and paying it off each month. I really am surprised at the reactions I am getting on this. I could tell him he needs to use the card, and he would, but this is easier and I guess I fail to see how it is adversely affecting anyone? He is a smart kid, he graduated college, works full time, has no debt, lives on his own, takes care of himself. He knows how to use a credit/debit card (we all realize that's not rocket science to enter your credit card number, right?!) and to budget his money. On the other side of this you have all the kids living with their parents cause they have no money, outside their means, racking up credit card debt on gaming systems, nights out at the bar, trips to Cabo...and here he is, spending only the money he has, putting money in savings and asking for guidance and assistance to learn and build his credit. It is easy for me to help him with this and to do something so minimal on my side that will help him so much in his future is worth it to me. When/If he wants to start using the card he can, but lots of adults don't use credit cards, they just use cash/debit cards. I stand by my choice to help him with this.

  5. LuckyRobin Says:
    1384881002

    It's unconventional, but maybe it is what works in this case. I have a feeling he's afraid that using a credit card himself might spiral out of control and he doesn't want to be one of those people. Hopefully he will outgrow the fear and eventually be able to do this on his own. He's young yet. Meanwhile, as long as both parties are willing and trust each other not to take advantage, and you always pay the bills on time, it'll work. He does need to have some sort of credit history when it comes time to buying a house if he wants to get a decent interest rate, unless he plans to just save up and buy with cash.

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