Am I Doing It Wrong If Im Not Using a Credit Card:

> be 18
> University Student in the US
> Upper middle class
> only 1k in bank account
>assets sitting comfy in AMZN and coins( VEN, M OD and ETH if you care)
> Frugal lifestyle
> Parents happily pay for things like food, gas, cell thanks to scholarships, living at home and my money management skills
> I know i wouldn't be stupid with a credit card
> Only work during school breaks and barely summer
> want to start music production and skateboarding in free time bc lonely at home and I outgrew my love for vidya :(

I know i should be pumping up my credit score but is it even worth it if im only spending 75-100 a month tops and 400 if i buy what i mentioned.

So should i stick to debit or just get a credit card is it even worth the trouble it with my expenses

build up your credit if you'll be smart with it.
They like to see history of a credit card for years as well so that can help you

Build up your credit now, future you will thank yourself as long as you don't fuck it up and ruin yourself with credit card debt.

If you have some small reoccurring expenses, use your credit card for that and pay it off in full, every month once you receive your statement.

Keep in mind you DO NOT need to carry a balance, that is a retarded myth when it comes to credit cards.

>music production and skateboarding
Oh, christ, another one.

You absolutely NEED 2 credit cards with no annual fee.

Increase your limit every year. You will need this to borrow for a house. Pay it off every month in full. Maximum benefit. I keep one reward card and one super low rate card if i ever need it.

btw my credit score is nearly 800.

Why do you own individual Amazon stock you moron

I have this too. I have a $28,500 limit combined.
Which is kinda fucked up actually but it's pretty neat. They just keep raising your limit once you get a good score. It's actually problematic for me I think the limits are too high and might detract from my overall credit score as the limit even though unused can be seen as a potential liability. Regardless though it's not bad.
One rewards card and one card with 10% APR.

You’re an idiot. Look up credit utilization

Yeah dude, I didn’t get my first card until I graduated college and was making nearly six figs. I started off in the mid 600’s while my friend who got his at 18 had an 800 credit score.

Just get a decent rewards card with 1k limit and pay it off every month. You get a few % discount on everything you buy if it’s a card with good rewards. You can open new cards if the promotional period expires and just stop using the previous card so you can maximize rewards.

>your credit score goes up with low utilization
>APR is meaningless if you pay your bills on time
>stack up on rewards cards
I pay everything through credit cards and save like $1000 a year as a result.

what's your eth wallet, user?

Although one thing to keep in mind is ((())) set up the system to reward people for staying in debt. Your credit score can drop significant amounts if you pay off longstanding loans such as student loans. I remember my score went from 760 to like 730 after a few of my loans were closed from paying them off. They look at average age of account as part of your score. My friends score dropped from 800 to 700 after paying off all his loans

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Thank you very much sir, appreciate it sir

I'm not an idiot because unfortunately I was told such when applying for a loan for a car. Credit utilization matters only to an extent

Yes OP, start using a credit card to build up your score. Chase freedom is a good starter ($0 monthly fee). I was in a similar situation to you and started using freedom then upgraded to sapphire after college. You sound smart so you wouldn’t abuse it, therefore it’s a no brainer to use CC rather than debit

It never hurts you to have a higher limit, only debts

>Upper middle class

You're aware that means your parents' net worth is $5M-$10M right and they're financially independent (ie. don't HAVE to work)? Is that what you meant?

cc is nice cause you can spend your money at any point in the month

just get a card, use it for 10% of its max every month, pay it off at the end of the month

that's what I do and even though I have some medical debt gone to collections my score is still almost 800

Nothing in your life is as important or ever will be as important as your credit score. Not your wife, not your kids, not your job, nothing.

OP, I was in the same boat. I was insured with State Farm and they got me into a credit card with state farm for their SF student credit, automatically approved as I was/am a student. I only used it to pay off my SF insurance. After a year I went from $500 limit to $1500. I have only went up to $500 but that was used to pay off books. Its definitely a great idea to go into credit now especially because you seem smart with your money. You will also have a one-up on a lot of your peers as most of them haven't even started to build credit. Rule of thumb, always be able to pay off your credit, best to pay in full at each month to avoid interest and never be late on payments. If you are late, you can always call the bank and tell them that you didn't mean to pay late or your payment is in the mail and they should be able to take off the late payment, BUT this only works maybe once or twice.

Also something to know, lets say you have a $400 credit bill, if you pay that all at once that will not build your credit any more than a $20 payment, unless you pay that off over several months. So if your racking up your payments to build credit it doesn't work that way.

don't listen to this idiot. Pay your full balance before the due date and you'll build credit just fine

>Borrowing for a house in this day and age.
Lol with the way the world is today you'd have to be crazy to take out a huge loan or mortgage for anything, especially a house. This isn't the 80's. If you're not paying cash for a house don't even fucking think about getting one. Better to pay cheap rent and save.

>tfw 25, never had a credit card, and already have enough for a down payment on a house because I lived cheap.

If you're 18 with only $1,000 and no bills you have no reason to call yourself good with money.

Literally open a card and never use it - having a 0% utilization is all that matters, the "using and paying" part is unnecessary

Better to do it now because interest rates are about to skyrocket.
Sad thing is he is well above the average with that money at 18.

I hope you're enjoying your higher interest rates from lack of credit history.

Pay off credit card in full, incur no financial loss. Gain benefits in the form of rewards points, generate credit, pay less money when house is eventually got.