Who do you consider to be in trouble when it comes to using credit cards? Someone who just got into college with a new credit card or a teenager who was registered as an authorized user at the age of 15 by his/her parents. Most of the research reports have shown that most of the people in credit card debts started using credit cards at an early age and mostly in college.

If you ask Your Personal Financial Mentor, he will advise you to avoid getting a credit card until you are able to take full responsibility for yourself. However, he will advise you how to manage it and can help you develop a healthy habit of managing your finance efficiently if you still want to get a credit card.

• Register as an authorized user: If you want to build good credit standings at a young age, then the best step is getting registered as an authorized user while your credit utilization is comparatively low.  It is really helpful to get registered as soon as possible because 15% of your credit score is calculated on the basis of the length of your credit history.
• Start practicing with a debit card: In case you are unable to get a credit card, try to have a savings account and get a debit card for usage. Using a credit card will help you in deciding your budget and getting into the habit of tracking your expenses.
• Consider credit cards as cash: It is very important as a teenager that you should treat credit card and cash equivalent. The sole purpose of this habit is that you should not get into the habit of purchasing something for which you do not have sufficient cash.
• Avoid “Minimum Payments”: It is very important that you pay your credit card bill in full and act as a responsible person. It is advised to avoid carrying a balance or going for the minimum payments.
• Compare credit card schemes: At the time of applying for a credit card, it is very important that you make a proper comparison of the different credit card schemes available for you. Also, make sure you have checked the interest rate and other important points of the credit cards.
• Avoid online application for credit cards: Moreover, make sure you avoid the online credit card offers that you are receiving as it is quite common to get emails from different banks for credit card schemes. Most of these offers are not as good as the offline offers available in the banks.

Categories: Credit