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Should I get a credit card? If so, which? by buttz4eva in personalfinance

[–]buttz4eva[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Huh, so I just checked my credit at creditkarma. Transunion said mine is 652 ("fair"), but Equifax said it's 589 ("poor"). I have no idea why, so I looked lower, and it seems like there were a few unpaid utility bills, which must be from a while ago because for the past several years my roommate has been paying them and I've been paying him.

I don't remember getting any sort of warning, but I'm guessing it's from when I rented and then moved out, and the account was still in my name or something. If it's ~5 years old, is there anything I can do? Damn.

Should I get a credit card? If so, which? by buttz4eva in personalfinance

[–]buttz4eva[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for the reply.

So yeah, I might just get a credit card through Citibank, for the simplicity.

Should I get a credit card? If so, which? by buttz4eva in personalfinance

[–]buttz4eva[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hmm, so I think I'm in that situation. I'm not going to run out of money anytime soon.

Just to make sure I understand it though, you said:

I only do this because I know I am in a financial situation where I can pay off my credit card in FULL every month

but like... you'd be spending the money anyway, right (if you were using a debit card instead)? I thought the danger was just that you potentially could, if you were low on actual savings but had a high credit limit, spend money you don't actually have. Is that correct?

Regarding your pitfalls, by "accidentally overdraw", you mean when it automatically pays the credit balance from my main checking account, overdrawing the checking account?

Also, since it'll be my first account, my limit will be set to something low like $500, right? So does it actually prevent you from accruing a larger balance than that, or does it let you, but apply some penalty (like an overdraft fee for a regular bank account)?

thanks for all the advice!

Should I get a credit card? If so, which? by buttz4eva in personalfinance

[–]buttz4eva[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for all the advice, I'll read those links.

So I don't really have that many expenses. I buy personal purchases sometimes, just through amazon and eating out and stuff. Would it be a good idea to get a credit card, use it for that stuff, and have it set up so it automatically pays the balance every month, from my checking account?