Whitebread
1000+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Sep 16, 2002
- Posts
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- 11
At age 20, I'm passing through a gray area in life where the typical young American man is gaining independence but is not yet fully emapcipated from his parents. I'm currently earning about 600 dollars a week at an engineering firm I'm interning so I've taken over responsibilities that my parents once took care of themselves. Food, clothing, car payments, small bill payments so on and so fourth. Its a step towards becomming a self sustaining and responsible man but I still have a ways to go.
The last few days I haven't been doing anything because one of the companies my employer is collaborating with is very slow on returning information I need to finish the project I've been working on. I've taken time to, among other things, contemplate ways I can be more fiscally responsible. The first thing that came to mind is credit, if only because my father is so irresponsible with his. The only thing consistant is his inconsistancy. This habbit has come to affect my finances directly through numerous late student load payments. I've recieved many a call from collection agencies for payments that were 60 or 70 days late; payments which he TOLD me he paid............
Needless to say, this negligence reflects poorly on my credit history, eventhough I'm not responsible for the tardiness. A creditor isn't going to be empathetic if I tell them daddy didn't pay when AES asked him too......
I'm not to interested in buying a new car anytime within the next few years. I have a good car that I take great care of. I'd be suprized if I didn't get another 100,000 miles out of it. Besides, I'd rather let someone else deal with the depreciation. I would like to be able to purchase a small condo or house as soon as I can. Crappy credit, especially in this bad market wont allow it. One method I thought of was to get a no fee credit card. Up until this point, I've used cash and debit cards to make purchases and I usually spend sparingly unless I'm guying some toy I want or spending cash to maintain the car. I figured I could buy food and occasionally gas (I will probably be driving once a week when school starts) with the card to keep the utilization ratio low. Pay back everything on time and in full (I've paid all my bills on time and always pay for everything I purchase up front) and make sure the card sits in my sock drawer when I know I won't be needing it.
I figured this is a respectable way to get a line of credit started and improve my financial standing. What do you guys think?
Sorry for the long post!
The last few days I haven't been doing anything because one of the companies my employer is collaborating with is very slow on returning information I need to finish the project I've been working on. I've taken time to, among other things, contemplate ways I can be more fiscally responsible. The first thing that came to mind is credit, if only because my father is so irresponsible with his. The only thing consistant is his inconsistancy. This habbit has come to affect my finances directly through numerous late student load payments. I've recieved many a call from collection agencies for payments that were 60 or 70 days late; payments which he TOLD me he paid............
Needless to say, this negligence reflects poorly on my credit history, eventhough I'm not responsible for the tardiness. A creditor isn't going to be empathetic if I tell them daddy didn't pay when AES asked him too......
I'm not to interested in buying a new car anytime within the next few years. I have a good car that I take great care of. I'd be suprized if I didn't get another 100,000 miles out of it. Besides, I'd rather let someone else deal with the depreciation. I would like to be able to purchase a small condo or house as soon as I can. Crappy credit, especially in this bad market wont allow it. One method I thought of was to get a no fee credit card. Up until this point, I've used cash and debit cards to make purchases and I usually spend sparingly unless I'm guying some toy I want or spending cash to maintain the car. I figured I could buy food and occasionally gas (I will probably be driving once a week when school starts) with the card to keep the utilization ratio low. Pay back everything on time and in full (I've paid all my bills on time and always pay for everything I purchase up front) and make sure the card sits in my sock drawer when I know I won't be needing it.
I figured this is a respectable way to get a line of credit started and improve my financial standing. What do you guys think?
Sorry for the long post!