STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

dixiegirl · BCBG

First credit card

esquiress · Marc Jacobs

now is a perfect time to start building your credit. just be responsible and pay off your balance at the end of every month. and i'm sure this is obvious but bear w/ me for just a sec: please please please don't go crazy charging stuff. i know of people who filed for bankruptcy to get out of the debt they charged in college. and it's true that cc companies prey on students by offering "free" stuff to get kids to sign up but at the end of the day it's all on you, you know? right now you have the opportunity to build your credit, but it's an opportunity that runs a serious risk as well. just be careful and responsible and you will be fine.

lsubatgirl · Gucci

Also see if you can find a card that offers rewards or cash back. You may have to start with the basic card or student card and work up but it will be nice once you get to that level. I started with a basic Discover card and I moved up to the next level after about 2 years and now I can earn cash back which is nice.

honey · Gucci

my brother gave me this advice (and i didn't listen to it) make sure the credit line is really low. since you're just getting it to build credit you don't need a $1000 balance. everyone always says they'll be responsible, it's easier to be responsible with $200 (which isn't too hard to pay off) than it is with $1000. all that matters is establishing a track record. also read the info. one of the things i learned from suze orman is to look at how they calculate the interest rate. a lot of cards do this 2 cycle balance thing, which means that if you carry a balance over they'll calculate intereste based on 2 months. so if one month you have a $100 balance, and the next month you have a $50. the interest rate is based on $75, not the actual $50 balance you have at the time.

jacL · Coach

Yes, get a credit card. You need to build good credit for anything in the future. Just don't go crazy like I did. I was very good for my first few years (I got my first card when I was 17) but since then it has all been downhill. Keep a low limit, like someone else said, and don't let them up it [the limit] on you.

Cortney1982 · Chanel

Start building credit early! I first started building credit at 19 when I bought a car and had my dad co-sign of course. Then I have gotten a few credit cards from then to start establishing long-term accounts. So last year when I just turned 22 I was able to get a loan on my own for a brand new car since I had very good credit.

I still think it's best to have at least a $1000 credit line. That is good for emergencies or for places that don't accept Visa debit cards.

lynnie · Chanel

i think you should get a high credit line too. Mine is co-signed with my mom and is like, $10,000 or something. Don't use it as an excuse to overcharge, I never thought of it that way- i've paid every balance off in full, it's good to have just in case of emergencies or if something goes wrong. For example- I did a store request for a pair of Anthropologie pants and they sent me 5 pairs by accident. That is $92 x 5 on my credit card- or $460. I returned it all- but it would have sucked to pay extra money just because I went over my credit. It totally wasn't my fault. Or if your car breaks down and you need to get it fixed and all you have is a credit card. Or once I had to pay a summer semester of my college on it because it was a last minute thing, and my dad paid me back a few days later. Higher credit lines are awesome, you just have to be careful. Just treat it like cash. I'm actually much more responsible with my credit card then I am with cash- cash just dissappears while I carefully think through what I spend my money on with a credit card. Go on a shopping ban if you need to. Write down all of your purchases on a post-it, adding as you go- accountant style, and wrap it around the card. Put it away once you spend over what you can spend in a month. I get 1% back on my card- I reccommend getting a card that gives you something back.

manhattanmonkey · Kenneth Cole

I too will be a sophomore this fall and just yesterday applied for a cc.

I know I'm going to be super cautious, but I think it will be good for emergencies or books for school or even at the gas pump when I need it but may not have a lot of cash in my debit account.

Watch interest rates. My stepmom is a banker so she printed off a bunch of low interest cc from a website. These interest rates will be lower than a student rate.

hth