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(07-12-2013 08:03 AM)snoop Wrote:  

(07-11-2013 09:18 PM)lurker Wrote:  

Absolutely get a credit card. It will establish credit for you, which is crucial in the modern economy.
Here's the trick. Don't think of it as a credit card. Treat it like a debit card. That is, if you don't have the cash to cover it, don't spend it. Use the credit card for all your purchases, then pay it off once/twice/four times a month - however often you have to - by using the Bill Pay feature on your checking account. I can do all this online without leaving my bedroom. I've been using the same credit card for seven years to pay the vast majority of my expenses and have never paid a dime in interest or fees. Now, I'm a financial idiot for not getting a different card* when my rewards program got canceled a couple years back, but other than that...

The other thing you can do is set up a Google Voice number in the area code you're trying to move to, so you look more local.

*in the process of getting rectified.

For people who aren't financially responsible (or even just make a simple math mistake or two in their spending) can also easily establish bad credit and a pile of debt, which is hard to dig out from and often worse than having no credit.

That's why I suggested getting one, but slowly ramp up in how you use it (only emergencies, groceries and gas/public transit pass at first) to get used to how they work and what your monthly and yearly expenses are (for example, when I first got my card I would forget about my yearly car insurance payment, so I would keep my monthly spending the same, then get hit with a $1000 invoice for that and ended up carrying debt I didn't need to)

If you can get one or two credit cards without annual / monthly fees, it might be worth signing up for them. Link them to your checking / debit card accounts, and treat them like cash. Making a few purchases monthly on your credit cards will build credit history - but you MUST pay them off in full every month, before the deadline, or it will harm you.

If you were to miss a payment by a few days and you don't have a history of late payments, calll whatever company you owe money to // your credit card company and have a talk with them. "I'm sorry, I overlooked it, look at my good history, can you please waive the late fees or charges / I just wanted to make sure that with my good record, this wouldn't impact my credit history." This can go a long way.