Friday, October 18, 2019

If you're the parent of a young adult, or an adult yourself, you know how important it is to begin building credit. To help, Experian offers the following ideas:

Start small and grow slowly. A secured account with a small credit limit can establish your credit history and help you start saving at the same time. Good credit and strong savings habits go hand-in-hand. You don't need a credit card with a high limit to have good credit.

Use the credit you have wisely. Good credit scores are not about having a lot of credit, but rather, about how you use the credit you have available. Make a small purchase each month and pay it in full. That will show that you can use credit well without taking on debt.

Use your cellphone to improve your credit. A tool like Experian Boost can add positive telecom and utility payments to your credit history and possibly boost your credit score. In the past, failing to pay your utility or cellphone bills could hurt your credit, but paying on time didn't help. With Experian Boost, that's changed.

Use technology to make managing your credit automatic. Millennials and Gen Zers are the most technologically savvy generations in our history. Use technology, such as online banking apps and credit management tools like the Experian app, to automate savings and payments, to alert you to potential fraud, and to track your progress as you build your credit history.

Source: Experian

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