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.

[baby jeebus]

i strongly doubt you will be eligible for a credit card.
first, you are not 18, and second i presume (since you are getting money from your parents) you dont have a job.
why is everyone going on about credit cards anyway? that wasnt the question.
heres my advice.
1)private leases are evil-somehow the landlords always turn out to be money-hungry, never-fixing-shower-leak kind of people. make sure you go through a real estate agent. if something goes wrong they will be mediator.
2)make sure you dont sign a long lease if you are not sure how long you want to stay. if you sign a twelve month lease and pull out one month into it the landlord is legally allowed to make you pay the whole twelve months rent. someone tried to do that to me once (again, private landlords...)
3)never walk into your housemates room without knocking. trust me on this one.
4)dont buy groceries together. it never works unless you have exactly the same eating habits. i moved into a place with friends and we went shopping together for the first time (and the only time). one of the housemates bought heaps of packets of pez and lots of expensive cheese. and we all paid equally for it. i have an issue with paying for other peoples luxuries. maybe you dont. something to think about though.
5)sharehouses are awesome. they are filthy dirty lairs but they are really fun if you have the right attitude. as long as you know and accept that its going to be dirty and you are going to eat toast most of the time and probably see your housmate naked at least once and he/she will undoubtedly wake you up sometimes in the middle of the night after a big night, youll have a great time.

[lefteyewilly]

2)make sure you dont sign a long lease if you are not sure how long you want to stay. if you sign a twelve month lease and pull out one month into it the landlord is legally allowed to make you pay the whole twelve months rent. someone tried to do that to me once (again, private landlords...)

Completely disagree...it's the corporate landlords that will do this to you...it's a hell of alot easier to getout of a lease if it's a Duplex (owned by one person)...especially if you leave it in good shape and you get to know them...it's the Corporate leasers that will F*** you. They don't care unless they get the money.........honestly think about it.

(i rent from a Corporate company...they have an iron clad lease that i signed....although, i knew i wasnt going anywhere, so i didn't have a problem with it)

Otherwise, i completely agree with you.

[baby jeebus]

yeah, i guess ive just personally always had bad experiences with private landlords.
i guess anyone can **** you over if youre not careful.

[lefteyewilly]

And to agree with BabyJeebus...there are many private landlords who won't even make you sign a lease. My parents own an apartment and they don't make anyone sign a lease, i've rented an apartment and didn't sign a lease (i only stayed 5-6 months, and they didn't care)...

the best thing as a landlord, is to screen your tenants. If you get a bad feeling about them, don't rent to them, and it's completely legal to not rent to someone if you don't want to (of course, you'd probably have to come up with a good excuse if someone argued with you)...

Now my point being here, is that, as a 17 year old, you probably will be either turned down to rent an apartment (privately owned), or you will absolutely have to sign a structured lease (private or corporate), that's just because you're not technically 'responsible' by stereotypical standards.

[big_k]

You probably won't even be able to sign a lease, chances are one of your parents will have to co-sign for you... shouldn't be a problem, since it seems like they are willing to help.