Building credit

 For college students I highly recommend getting a student credit card as your starter card. I also recommend getting a credit card with a bank you already have a relationship (checking/savings) with. If you don’t have any credit history and are also not in college you can apply for a secured credit card or become an authorized user on a trusted person’s credit card. 

Maintain a good credit card utilization

I like to keep my credit card utilization under 10% and pay off my credit cards every month but really anything under 30% is considered good. However, the lower your utilization the better it is for your credit score. You can’t go wrong if you use your credit card in the same manner as a debit card and don’t spend more than you can afford to pay off. Some people pay off their credit cards as soon as the charge posts, I do that with bigger purchases that take up a significant portion of my credit limit on that specific card. For example if you make a $5,000 purchase on a card with a $7500 limit I would encourage you to pay it off when it is posted to your account as opposed to waiting until the statement period ends because at that point the balance will be reported to the credit bureau and impact your credit score negatively.

Pay bills on Time

Pay off debt 

Pay more than the minimum as permitted by your budget.

To avoid any missed payments, set up automatic payments and bill reminders.

Take on balances with the highest interest rates initially using the "avalanche method"

Utilize the "snowball method" to pay off the smallest loans first, and then progressively raise payments toward larger loans.

To combine all of your debt obligations into a single loan with fixed interest rates and monthly installments, apply for a debt consolidation loan.

caution against canceling or deleting a credit card account since it could harm your credit history and credit utilization. It should be noted that paying off your credit card debt is a wonderful strategy to improve your credit.