DJ Demon J
Banned
I seem to recall OT having a credit topic before, but undergoing my first car buying process and dealing with my bad credit history, I thought it would be helpful for those young gaffers out there who may have questions on credit, or may be getting their first credit card soon or have begun using one frequently.
Let me say what should be obvious (but wasn't to me when I was young and dumb):
DO NOT BE LATE OR MISS A PAYMENT. DO NOT CHARGE WHAT YOU CAN'T AFFORD WITHIN A MONTH'S TIME. DO NOT APPLY FOR TOO MANY CREDIT CARDS OR LOANS (a proper amount is like 3 ccs, no more).
Yes, it is obvious, but the allure of credit can wreak havoc on your financial future. And if you fuck it up, it takes a LOOOOOONG time to fix. I'm just now getting bad marks taken off of my record, after a long 3 years of settling debts and writing letters to several agencies. Take it from me, you do NOT want to do that. I implore you to learn from my mistakes if you are beginning to use a credit card or are discovering yourself approaching higher and higher cc debt.
Some sites to help you understand FICO credit scores (as well as the 3 credit reporting agencies which every single lender you'll ever borrow from will depend on to assess your creditworthiness):
www.myfico.com
www.experian.com
www.transunion.com
www.equifax.com
We now return you to your regular OT programming...
Let me say what should be obvious (but wasn't to me when I was young and dumb):
DO NOT BE LATE OR MISS A PAYMENT. DO NOT CHARGE WHAT YOU CAN'T AFFORD WITHIN A MONTH'S TIME. DO NOT APPLY FOR TOO MANY CREDIT CARDS OR LOANS (a proper amount is like 3 ccs, no more).
Yes, it is obvious, but the allure of credit can wreak havoc on your financial future. And if you fuck it up, it takes a LOOOOOONG time to fix. I'm just now getting bad marks taken off of my record, after a long 3 years of settling debts and writing letters to several agencies. Take it from me, you do NOT want to do that. I implore you to learn from my mistakes if you are beginning to use a credit card or are discovering yourself approaching higher and higher cc debt.
Some sites to help you understand FICO credit scores (as well as the 3 credit reporting agencies which every single lender you'll ever borrow from will depend on to assess your creditworthiness):
www.myfico.com
www.experian.com
www.transunion.com
www.equifax.com
We now return you to your regular OT programming...