Your children becoming financially independent can be exciting, but can be challenging too. Helping your children build great credit early in life will be beneficial when facing financial realities in the future like purchasing a car, home, or applying for a loan.
Here are three tips to help your children build credit at 18:
1.Always pay bills on time (set up calendar reminders on their phone)
The most important factor of your FICO credit score is your payment history. Don’t let late payments bring their score down. Of course, we are all human, and things happen so if they happen to be late on a payment they should call their lender and see if they will be willing to waive it. Setting up auto payments could also be beneficial in case they are forgetful.
2.Get a secured credit card
Make sure they are spending on their credit cards (and of course paying them on time), as it is so important to their credit score. A secured credit card will help build their great credit and because it is prepaid they can ensure that they aren’t abusing it or overspending what they don’t have.
3.Make payments to their student loans while in school
While in college your child is not required to make payments on their student loans but your child doing so will help them get ahead on the loan and pay it off earlier. This will also reduce debt when they have added expenses in the future.
4.Make them an authorized user on your credit card
If you have good spending habits and good credit, consider making your child an authorized user on your credit card. Don’t necessarily allow them to use your credit card but doing this will allow your good credit history and length to reflect on their credit also.