share some life advice, moving out...

[indivision]

Use bank debit cards instead. The credit habit is bad. A bad habit, bad for the economy and bad for you. Don't believe it? Then look around, there are hundreds of credit institutions, some who own skyscraper buildings. Guess who pays for all that?

Agreed. More people abuse credit than take advantage of it. Everything about credit companies is designed to get you to become in debt. At the same time, as you get older, credit becomes more and more important for financial options. Going in debt can be very costly, but usually not nearly as expensive as having to pay a high interest rate on a home for 30 years.

Squid, you have to be honest with yourself about how disciplined you can be about money. If you can't resist telling yourself "I'll extend myself just this one time" then you shouldn't get a card. But, if you can be responsible about it, it will pay you later.

In regard to how credit works. It's very complicated. Your credit is rated on all kinds of factors. One of the major ones is how long you have had credit. Simply having the card and not using it will rack up points for you. Also, every amount of credit you pay off gets added to a total. The more you've paid off, the more points you get. You lose points when you pay bills late, go bankrupt, get convicted for fraud, etc. As mentioned, it costs you nothing extra (no interest) if you pay it off entirely each month. It's the same as cash but also improves your credit.

If you do want to get one. Do a little comparison shopping to get the best rate possible and absolutely no monthly charges (other than interest). There are a lot of scam cards out there. You're probably best off going through your bank or even better a credit union if your parents are in the military or other such organization that extends a credit union to you.