how to establish credit

[kevinj 19]

Hi all!

I have another question .

Credit seems pretty important here, so I want to get some. I checked recently and simply don't have credit - never had any loans anywhere, always used my European credit card and never saw a reason to get a second card ... As you can imagine, the fact that I've always gotten by without borrowing and don't owe anyone for overpriced education or overpriced medical care makes the USA think I must be very untrustworthy .

Anyway, here's the catch : how do I get in on the game? My bank tells me getting a couple credit cards should do the trick, then they declined my application because of ... no credit history.

I've had my green card for a year now and I haven't had steady employment. Some paid-by-the-hour software consultancy work. A part-time teaching job. Right now, I'm on a short-term contract from Europe! In Summer, I'm expecting more consultancy work. I'll try again to get a 'real job' for Fall, but living in Portland OR, these aren't too easy to come by. (My wife, the US citizen half of the pair, is a full-time student with no income to speak of.)

Barring existing credit and proof of steady income, how do I get in on the system? At this point, I don't even care if I get the crappiest APR in the entire universe.

If anyone has been in my shoes, I would love to hear about your experiences and your solutions!

Thanks,

Kevin

[SuperDuper! 230]

Start out with a secured credit card ($500).

[Darnell 8,478]

you could take out a secured loan at yer bank, make payments on it for 6 months, then pay it off. Start at 2000, using 2000 cash as the security (usually as a Certificate of Deposit, a CD). Go back to yer bank, ask about this. Good Luck !

[Noth 4]

My banker told me about a secure credit card, you give them the money (from $300 to 10 000) and this is the credit you can use.

Then the best option to built a good credit is to spend 1/3 of it every other month and pay it back.

example:

Month 1 you use $100

you pay back $50

Month 2 you don't use your card

you pay the other $50

Month 3 cycle bigins again.

This is a secure way to build credit here, and with a few chance for you to be decline (after all it's your money in there) after a year or so, they should give a real credit card, and then you'll be able to say "i'm living the dream"

[kaffy 2]

Try doing a search, this topic has been discussed many times before

[trillium13 84]

Does your spouse have a credit card? If so, add yourself to the account. Be sure it is as an actual joint account holder and not just authorized user.

[kaffy 2]

Try doing a search, this topic has been discussed many times before

To get you started

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/218642-the-best-way-to-build-up-credit-in-the-us/page__p__3321351__hl__establishing%20credit

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/194544-establishing-credit/page__hl__establishing%20credit

[kevinj 19]

Hi everyone

thanks for the advice. I had tried to look at older threads, but it was hard to find the good ones ... So thanks for the links!

Also thanks for the other pieces of advice ... It seems that I will indeed have to start by paying a bank so that I can borrow money from myself. I'm currently having the "why doesn't this country make any sense??" crisis every immigrant seems to go through, so never mind the delicate hint of sarcasm. I'll get over it, I promise.

I will also look into being added onto my wife's account (jointly). I want her to check her score first in case it's really bad (she hasn't checked in a long time) but I expect we'll end up adding me in any case as I have I751 coming up in half a year.

bye,

Kevin

[Vivi6 12]

Hi everyone

thanks for the advice. I had tried to look at older threads, but it was hard to find the good ones ... So thanks for the links!

Also thanks for the other pieces of advice ... It seems that I will indeed have to start by paying a bank so that I can borrow money from myself. I'm currently having the "why doesn't this country make any sense??" crisis every immigrant seems to go through, so never mind the delicate hint of sarcasm. I'll get over it, I promise.

I will also look into being added onto my wife's account (jointly). I want her to check her score first in case it's really bad (she hasn't checked in a long time) but I expect we'll end up adding me in any case as I have I751 coming up in half a year.

bye,

Kevin

Hahaha I hear you. The financial mentality in America is completely backwards, then they wonder why they are in this crisis! I mean, the more you are indebted (because that's what having credit really means!) the more all the door are open for you! I bought a car and they wanted me to try to finance(even though I had cash to pay for the car!)- without a job and without credit! Are you crazy???

Anyways, I have a secured credit card from wells fargo, they approved it even without a job or credit so you should be ok. It's 300 bucks to start with, that's also your limit, and after 6 months or 12 months if you make payments on time you get the money back. I suggest you make the payments after they close the billing cycle, because that's what makes the credit go up. This means I wait for the credit card statement to come in the mail (or via email) and then pay for it. Also, try not to make just the "minimum payment" because that's how they rip you off!

Once you have established some credit, I am told the best way to make it go up is to finance for a car or a house. Once I get a job, I plan on trading my car in and finance a small amount for a new one. You can also put the utilities in your name. They wanted a 330 dollar deposit here in San Diego, but they will give it back to me in 1 year with interests so I thought it was worth it.

Finally, want to laugh a bit? Last week they even rejected my application for a Macy's card! I'm like, fine, you really don't like my money!

[LT.Nora 7]

Capital One has a credit card for people "new to the country" with limited or no credit history. Try that! And let me know how it goes

[woki1986 1]

Capital One has a credit card for people "new to the country" with limited or no credit history. Try that! And let me know how it goes

I don't understand that... If you've never owed anyone anything and always pay your bills, how can that not be better than actually having to pay a bank money back?

You're shooting yourself in the foot...

But if that's what you have to do, you have to do, I guess. (And what I'll probably have to do.)

[Vivi6 12]

I don't understand that... If you've never owed anyone anything and always pay your bills, how can that not be better than actually having to pay a bank money back?

You're shooting yourself in the foot...

But if that's what you have to do, you have to do, I guess. (And what I'll probably have to do.)

Here comes the backward financial mentality I was talking about I never financed anything in my life because I was taught to buy only what I can afford to pay right away. Blah!

[woki1986 1]

Here comes the backward financial mentality I was talking about I never financed anything in my life because I was taught to buy only what I can afford to pay right away. Blah!

That's what I've always done. If there's anything I wanted to buy, I made sure I could afford it first. Obviously something on a large scale... like a house or something I'd have to do a bit different... But for smaller things the above is what I've done.

Oh dear

And you're right... this might be why the economy is all over the place.

[LT.Nora 7]

I don't understand that... If you've never owed anyone anything and always pay your bills, how can that not be better than actually having to pay a bank money back?

You're shooting yourself in the foot...

But if that's what you have to do, you have to do, I guess. (And what I'll probably have to do.)

That's exactly what I think I never had any credit cards and never intended on having any. But I will be forced to open credit cards and lines of credit so that in the future I would be able to buy a house.

The calculation for FICO score is so complex that if you have too little credit cards, your score won't go up; if you have too many, your score will go down; if you shop around for a car loan, your score will go down for too many inquiries.

The most important thing is not to go over 30% of your credit limit, because that is when your score will start going down. I plan on making little purchases every month and pay it off in full; that way I won't have to pay interest (some cards allow that) and won't be putting myself in debt. Also other suggest that if you want to buy something for let's say $3000 and have cash for it, you should get a loan for $3000 (so it shows on your credit) and just pay it off in two or so payments; that way your credit score will go up. And also NEVER EVER EVER be late on any payments!

The other thing that amazes me is that FICO score has nothing to do with your income. So if in the past I build a good credit score and I am homeless without a job now, I will still be able to get all kinds of loans with no problem!

The other thing to know when shopping for credit cards and starting to build credit is that you need to ask if the company reports to all of the three credit bureaus and if they don't, look for another credit company.

Good luck to everyone getting into debt responsibly!

[kevinj 19]

Thanks to everyone for your responses! It's been helpful!

Meanwhile, my experience has indeed been that no-one wants to give me any money.

I tried credit unions (which are said to be nicer than the evil big banks) - nope.

I tried citibank (Have had a credit card, which I still use, with their Belgian branch for 10 years) - nope, "abroad" doesn't count, it's just some mythical place on the dark side of the moon.

I tried to apply for a credit card together with my spouse. They wouldn't do it; since I'm a foreigner, I can't apply jointly with a citizen ; would have to have her get the card first, and then add me. F*** them. (This was at Chase.)

So I've bought the motorcycle I wanted in cash. Too bad, I would've liked to use the opportunity to start some credit, but there was no way.

Guess I'll do the $500 secured card next month. (Spent all my cash on the bike this month .)

Thanks for offering advice or ranting with me a bit! We've got to help each other stay sane, eh