How early can a person start building credit?
I want to make sure my daughter starts out with good credit. She is only 5 and has a savings accout. I have her deposit 2/3 of ther allowance each week.
Anyway, how & when can I start building her credit file?
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July 7th, 2009 at 5:16 am
When she is about 16, add her as an “authorized user” on your credit card. Of course, do not let her charge anything. It goes without saying that you should only charge what you can pay off entirely each month.
When she is 18, add her as a “joint account holder” (you can only have two people on a joint account). Most credit card companies require some months history of a newbie as an authorized user before adding her to a joint account.
Starting from the time she is added to the joint account, she shares your credit history. Again, do not let her charge anything, unless you are sure she is not going to overspend & make it so you are unable to pay the balance in full each month.
Before she leaves for college, have her apply to the same company for a credit card in her name only.
She will be starting with a great (your shared) credit history
and you will not have assumed any risk to your own credit history if she does not handle money as well in the future as she does now.