Article: Keeping up-to-date on your payments is an important part of building a good credit history. Late payments are reported to the credit bureaus and will negatively impact your credit score. This could keep you from being able to purchase things you want in the future with credit. This applies to all of your financial obligations, not just credit card payments. You should use also pay your other bills on time whenever possible – like your utility bills, phone bills, and any other loans you might have (car, mortgage, etc.). . A good way to start building up your credit score is by getting a credit card. There are many different options for this, so even if you have been refused in the past you should still be able to find a type of credit card that works for you. Try one of the following options for credit cards:   Secured credit card – this kind of card is great for people with no credit because almost anyone can get approved for them. It is a card that is funded by cash deposit you made ahead of time so there is little risk for a lender and you’ll still get credit for positive payments.  Student credit card – this kind of card is often easier to get because they are geared towards students who they already assume have little to no credit history. Unfortunately, they often have lower credit limits than other types of cards, but they also sometimes come with enticing promotional offers.  Retail credit card – a retail credit card is a good credit-building option because it usually has a higher acceptance rate than a regular card. They can also offer promotional incentives to help you save money at their store. But these kinds of cards may also have lower credit limits than a normal card.  Authorized user – being an authorized user on someone’s account means that you’ll have a card with your name on it for someone else’s credit account. So, you have access to the credit (and, therefore, the account holder’s payment history will positively affect yours), but you are not responsible for any of the payments. Ask your parents or another friend or family member who already has good credit if they’ll let you be an authorized user on their account. Using your credit cards is important, but it’s also a good idea to not use them too much. Try to keep your balances low by paying them off every month (or as close to it as you can get).  Using 30% or less of your available credit looks good to potential lenders. If you max your credit cards out, this can appear to lenders as if you rely too much on your credit, which is not a good sign to them. These kinds of loans are low-risk (for your and the lender!) loans that you can get from most banks. They are usually for a small amount (not more than $1000) and the money is put in an interest-earning account while you make monthly payments toward this “loan.”  Once the amount is paid off, the funds are released to you plus the interest it accrued while it was being held by the bank. These kinds of loans are usually designed to be paid back within 6 to 18 months.

What is a summary?
Pay your bills on time. Get a credit card Keep your balances low. Get a credit builder loan.