College graduate with no credit looking to establish history?
There are a lot of questions already about credit but I want to make mine specific. I graduated from college with a degree in chemistry last month. I paid for school out of pocket, so I have no student loans to worry about. I have never had a credit card, my cell phone bill is not in my name, and my on-campus apartment had my mom as the guarantor. I plan to attend grad school in Boston, but I live in Maryland and my parents don’t want me to leave because of empty nest syndrome. I know they are going to refuse to help me with an apartment, so I need to establish my own credit so that I am able to rent some kind of apartment. I graduated with honors and a high GPA and I have years worth of research experience so I am fairly confident that I will get accepted. I am aware that I may have to wait a couple of years while I build credit and get a job, because building credit takes time. My question: what is the best way to go about building credit? Should I get a credit card and make small charges? If so, which type? I don’t qualify for a student card anymore. Should I get a retail card? I’m not a big shopper, but I do buy books from Barnes and Noble and shop at Macy’s. I have also heard that magazine subscriptions work as well, but not sure about that. Serious suggestions are greatly appreciated.
I just want to add i have one joint checking account with my parents, and one checking account that my paychecks are deposited into.
Tags: barnes and noble, boston, campus apartment, cell phone bill, checking account, chemistry, credit card, empty nest syndrome, gpa, grad school, guarantor, job, macy, magazine subscriptions, mom, parents, paychecks, research experience, retail card, student loans