As a college student or eighteen year old, building credit for the first time can be confusing because like doing anything for the first time, you have no idea what to do!  The best thing is to usually get advice or find it online (like you’re doing right now).  Building credit for the first time isn’t that hard at all.  Actually, it’s pretty simple if you follow these simple tips.

Open up a credit card- The first thing that comes to mind when thinking about building credit is opening up a credit card.  Since, this is the easiest route, this is what you should do as a student.  A college student generally has an advantage of an eighteen year old not attending college because the credit card companies views a college student as a more responsible card carrier than one without motivation to go to college.  I recommend you look at a student credit card when you apply for your first card.

Use your card once in a while – Even if you don’t want to use your credit card, make a few purchases a month just to show the companies that you’re responsible in paying it off.  Even if the purchases are a few dollars, it all adds up in the long haul and it’s a lot better than having no activity at all.  Make sure that you keep your card in your wallet or purse and use it at least twice a month.  Try and keep the spending small, so that you don’t go over your budget and find you can’t pay your bill at the end of the month.

Pay in full each month – If you pay your bill off in full at the end of each month, you’re going to be able to avoid the interest rates.  This is why it’s important to pay your bill off at the end of each month every month.  If you get into the habit of not paying your bill off in full, you’ll soon find your bill getting bigger and bigger each month and this will soon lead you down that awful road of debt.

Build credit in alternate ways – A credit card isn’t the only way you can build credit.  Instead of focusing on a credit card, try and apply for a cell phone or department store card in your own name.  A car loan as well can help.  Anything that reports to the credit bureau will help your credit score in the long.  Don’t open accounts just for the sake of building credit because one or two accounts will suffice.

Building credit takes a while and it doesn’t happen overnight.  As long as you open up one account that reports to the bureaus and you treat that account responsibly, you shouldn’t have a problem building credit the right way.  Use your card wisely and it will pay off in the long run.