I'm turning 18 tommorrow - Tips before applying for credit?

eviekins

swbrua wrote: »

I know it's wildly off topic, but at the age of 21 how do you have £30,000+ in savings? It would be interesting to see a topic explaining how, if it's just a reasonably good job and saving every penny or if you had money from family/friends and saved that? I guess if you left school at 16 and have been working full time since and made good decisions (living with parents to save money) you could have achieved it, that would take a lot of discipline congrats either way, would definitely like to hear how as someone a similar age!

Hi swbrua I live with parents still so luckily I have very low outgoings, meaning I can save more. I have saved every penny myself and have just been relatively sensible! I have been saving since i was about 14 and when i was 17 was able to buy myself a nice little car. I have continued to save, as I'd like to purchase a house in a few years, hence the amount I now have. I have always worked part time and just picked up extra hours when I could, and have worked full time for nearly 2 years.
I think credit is great if you are sensible and going to pay back in full each month. I have 1 credit card with a small £300 limit for discounts in highstreet shops. I pay back in full each month, and have never paid any interest, so I just benefit from the card.
Thanks for the question, best of luck to you

motorguy

danothy wrote: »

I think you'll have a better chance of getting credit if you apply for a few credit cards before you buy the laptop. Shows that you are serious about credit. Also, remember to get the extended warranty when you buy the laptop, those things are worth their weight in gold.

What horrifyingly BAD advice. Lets change the word credit to debt - which is what these cards are - DEBT cards.

danothy wrote: »

I think you'll have a better chance of getting debt if you apply for a few debt cards before you buy the laptop. Shows that you are serious about debt. Also, remember to get the extended warranty when you buy the laptop, those things are worth their weight in gold.

Finally, i am sure there are many threads on money SAVING expert about why spending probably 50% of an items value on a warranty is a BAD idea

motorguy

Theres a very simple solution to this without involving DEBT cards or applying for DEBT.

As someone has already said - simply wait until january until the O/P has another months savings, and hey presto, the problem goes away. OR ask friends and family for cash instead of presents this year and put that money towards it - i am sure the O/P's family would have more pride in them being prudent rather than see them starting off their life getting straight into debt.

Also, use https://www.dell.co.uk/outlet to get probably 40% off the prices of their machines by getting a refurb / cancelled order unit. A decent laptop for £200+ is very doable.

Also, keep an eye on the bargain forums on here, and on https://www.hotukdeals.com. I'm currently typing on a Samsung NP-150 netbook that cost me £115 delivered - as opposed to approx £250-£300 as its retail price.

Finally if its for studies and can be static, why not consider a PC? I bought one for £50 on ebay thats doing the job perfectly for me in my study.

motorguy

DCFC79 wrote: »

he wants it now though

And THAT is one of the big reasons this country is in the mess its in. :eek:

Apples2

danothy wrote: »

also, remember to get the extended warranty when you buy the laptop, those things are worth their weight in gold.

what???????

ViolaLass

I think the thing about the warranty can be true in some cases - when I bought my Mac, I extended the warranty to three years for £50, which is, IMO, a very good deal.

That said, there's no way you should extend automatically and to advise someone of that is silly.

kaya

No offence to the OP as it's your life to do with as you please but is that seriously how people are pre-programmed nowdays? The first thought you have when turning 18 is how you can get yourself into debt in order to keep up with the Jones's ? Can you not borrow the money from family and pay them back instead ? You are playing right into the hands of the financial industry who's goal is to get you and keep you in debt for the rest of you life so they get rich by doing SFA!

mgarl10024

drjones wrote: »

Let's give the OP the benefit of the doubt here.
<snip>
Not every young person is dumb with money, and I reckon there's probably an inverse correlation between financial-foolishness and time spent on these forums. He's also smart enough to be saving already.

If I was in the OP's position, and could buy something on 6 months of interest free credit I would; we all know it's the most profitable option given the repayments are made. He doesn't lose interest on his savings and he starts building his own credit score. Ultimately it's his responsibility not to balls it up.

I totally agree. When I moved out, one of the problems I had was that I had never had anything on credit, so had a credit record which told lenders nothing. If the OP is sensible (which, given that he's on forums and already saving I would suggest he is) and has the laptop on credit for 6mths at 0%, and pays it off - then he has demonstrated his responsibility, kept the interest on his savings, and got a good start on his credit record.

money_free_2011 wrote: »

Another 'post' suggested purchase in Jan sales (GREAT IDEA).

Yep. Great idea.

pgilc1 wrote: »

What horrifyingly BAD advice. Lets change the word credit to debt - which is what these cards are - DEBT cards.

I'm new here - but I'm slightly stunned. Credit is a really useful tool - when used wisely. If people only take out what they know they can afford, then it is an excellent tool. If the OP has the money in the bank, and is choosing to take out credit at 0% so that he can protect his savings, then IMO he's a smart cookie (and I'm impressed that he's just 18). If anything goes wrong, he pays off his debt with his savings, and nothing is wrong.
It's if he has no savings and relies on credit that things get hairy.
If I had a child of 18, and this child was responsible - I'd certainly suggest that they get a credit card, set up a direct debit to pay off the full amount, and just use it for all their *normal* spending, paying it off every month - if only to get a decent credit rating and to teach them the responsible use of credit.
I politely suggest concern if we warn everyone off credit just because some people have been burned in the past. If we're not careful, we'll end up banning really useful products and services because not everyone always uses them wisely.

Finally, I'm a little concerned that the OP hasn't been around for a while.

motorguy

mgarl10024 wrote: »

I totally agree. When I moved out, one of the problems I had was that I had never had anything on credit, so had a credit record which told lenders nothing. If the OP is sensible (which, given that he's on forums and already saving I would suggest he is) and has the laptop on credit for 6mths at 0%, and pays it off - then he has demonstrated his responsibility, kept the interest on his savings, and got a good start on his credit record.


Yep. Great idea.


I'm new here - but I'm slightly stunned. Credit is a really useful tool - when used wisely. If people only take out what they know they can afford, then it is an excellent tool. If the OP has the money in the bank, and is choosing to take out credit at 0% so that he can protect his savings, then IMO he's a smart cookie (and I'm impressed that he's just 18). If anything goes wrong, he pays off his debt with his savings, and nothing is wrong.
It's if he has no savings and relies on credit that things get hairy.
If I had a child of 18, and this child was responsible - I'd certainly suggest that they get a credit card, set up a direct debit to pay off the full amount, and just use it for all their *normal* spending, paying it off every month - if only to get a decent credit rating and to teach them the responsible use of credit.
I politely suggest concern if we warn everyone off credit just because some people have been burned in the past. If we're not careful, we'll end up banning really useful products and services because not everyone always uses them wisely.

Finally, I'm a little concerned that the OP hasn't been around for a while.

My concern was around the statement 'apply for a few credit cards - show them you're serious about credit'

It just seems like the wrong message to me, and the wrong path to be going down at just 18 years of age.

CH27

Firstly happy 18th.

What are you getting for your birthday & xmas?
Could you ask for cash to put towards the laptop?

Getting into debt is a really bad idea. Save up for it.