# Building Credit From Zero At Age 35 **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 1, 2022, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-credit-from-zero-at-age-35/960302 "2022-03-01T21:11:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2022, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-credit-from-zero-at-age-35/960302/21 "2022-03-02T21:32:29Z")
Yeah, that seems to be the only kind there are any more. I can remember when you couldn’t use a Visa or Mastercard at a department store. You either had to use their credit card, cash, or check. I’m old. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2022, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-credit-from-zero-at-age-35/960302/22 "2022-03-02T21:34:36Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > > [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > > > I’m a little curious how lack of credit could keep someone from buying tires but not the vehicle that the tires presumably go on. > > The car companies have an interest in making sure that credit is available This is true, but I think you may be missing my point. My thought process was something like this: If someone’s trying to buy tires, I assume they own a vehicle to put the tires on. If they own a vehicle, chances are fairly good that they used some sort of financing/loan to purchase it, in which case, why would they have no credit history? On the other hand, if they didn’t need to finance their vehicle purchase—if they had enough to just fork over the entire purchase price up front—why couldn’t they do the same to buy the tires? ---
**Author:** ![Lancia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lancia/32/17174_2.png) [@Lancia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lancia)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2022, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-credit-from-zero-at-age-35/960302/23 "2022-03-02T21:44:53Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > chances are fairly good that they used some sort of financing/loan to purchase it, in which case, why would they have no credit history? > > On the other hand, if they didn’t need to finance their vehicle purchase—if they had enough to just fork over the entire purchase price up front—why couldn’t they do the same to buy the tires? According to [this](https://www.statista.com/statistics/453075/share-of-used-vehicles-with-financing-usa/), “The share of used vehicles with financing in the United States decreased with fluctuations from the first quarter of 2017 to the first quarter of 2021. In the first quarter of 2021, 34.5 percent of the used cars in the United States were financed.” For new cars, “The share of new vehicles with financing in the United States decreased overall from the first quarter of 2017 to the first quarter of 2021, despite some fluctuations. It was found that 81.2 percent of new vehicles purchased in the United States in the first quarter of 2021 were financed.” So statistically if financing was involved it would appear to matter the car was purchased used or not. If someone owns a car but has no credit history they almost assuredly either paid cash for it, bought it private party, or received it as a gift. > [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > if they didn’t need to finance their vehicle purchase—if they had enough to just fork over the entire purchase price up front—why couldn’t they do the same to buy the tires? Budgeting and saving money for routine car maintenance is not something a lot of people do. Saving money to buy the car in the first place (or using an extra cash injection like a tax refund) _is_ something people do a lot of. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2022, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-credit-from-zero-at-age-35/960302/24 "2022-03-02T22:25:36Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > On the other hand, if they didn’t need to finance their vehicle purchase—if they had enough to just fork over the entire purchase price up front—why couldn’t they do the same to buy the tires? When my son bought his car, he used savings from a long accumulation. If he had been on the hook for $300 in new tires on the spot at various points after that, he probably wouldn’t have had it handy. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2022, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-credit-from-zero-at-age-35/960302/25 "2022-03-03T00:01:28Z")
A lot to take in (and all appreciated). I’m not overburdened with free time at the moment, but just to address some of the salient points: - I perhaps should have emphasized that a credit card was (is) the primary goal; applying for credit for the tires was an attempt to take a step in that direction. But she does need a credit card because she’s starting to do a fair amount of traveling, and unlike every place I’ve worked things like car rentals and hotel ancillary fees are not prepaid. - The reason for asking for advice is primarily the frustration alluded to above: applying and being rejected was getting her down. So the link provided by **PastTense** could be especially helpful. - Once she has a card, the plan is to use it for things like household expenses that are already budgeted for, then pay it off every month. - The car in question is a ten year old hand-me-down, so financing is not a factor. - I believe **filmore** is correct, at least in this case: she is an authorized user on one of my accounts — with her name on the card — because of the travel expenses mentioned above. But it doesn’t seem to have created any history for her. When we both have some time we’ll be going over the responses and crafting a plan. In the meantime, keep 'em coming … and again, thanks. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2022, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-credit-from-zero-at-age-35/960302/26 "2022-03-03T02:19:42Z")
This was 20 years ago, but i feel like my bank was happy to give me a credit card when I had little or no credit. Has she applied for a card through her bank? (Not a store card). ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2022, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-credit-from-zero-at-age-35/960302/27 "2022-03-03T04:08:33Z")
My daughter jumped into the deep end of the credit pool by buying a car. I don’t think she even had a credit card. We went to the credit union, she explained exactly what she wanted to do, and the loan officer showed her how to secure the loan through her savings account. Of course, my daughter had saved up enough to pay cash for the car, and paid off the entire loan in 12 months. ---
**Author:** ![Dereknocue67](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6de8d8/32.png) [@Dereknocue67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dereknocue67)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2022, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-credit-from-zero-at-age-35/960302/28 "2022-03-03T08:40:08Z")
Years ago after being discharged from military service, I applied for but was unable to obtain a credit card because I had no credit history. I knew someone who worked for Sears and she agreed to cosign my application for their credit card with an $80 line of credit. I purchased a watch and when the bill arrived, I paid it in full. Several weeks later, applications began to arrive with offers from credit card companies. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2022, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-credit-from-zero-at-age-35/960302/29 "2022-03-03T12:44:07Z")
> [@Dereknocue67](#): > > Several weeks later, applications began to arrive with offers from credit card companies. And were you, in fact, able to get a credit card with one of those applications? ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2022, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-credit-from-zero-at-age-35/960302/30 "2022-03-03T13:30:33Z")
I was able to print the reports I got online- pretty sure there was a print option because I don’t remember doing it screen by screen. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2022, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-credit-from-zero-at-age-35/960302/31 "2022-03-03T13:38:05Z")
You don’t even need to buy a car to do this - my credit union offers secured loans. You can borrow a certain percentage of what you have on deposit , the amount of the loan is frozen ( so there is no risk the borrower will not repay) and the loan doesn’t need to be for a specific purpose. Big banks like Citibank or Chase won’t offer this sort of loan, but smaller banks and credit unions also do. It’s similar to a secured card but very possibly easier as far as the application process goes. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2022, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-credit-from-zero-at-age-35/960302/32 "2022-03-03T13:50:00Z")
Credit karma is an Android app that gives you your credit scores and useful info about how to improve them. You get some ads, but it’s free, and very easy to use. My banker recommended it when i had similar questions. When my son got his first credit card the credit available was so little that he often spent most of it in a single purchase, and it turns out that “carrying debt close to your limit” hurts your credit. So he took to intentionally buying cheap things on it and paying it off not than once a month, and his credit score rapidly rose. ---
**Author:** ![Dereknocue67](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6de8d8/32.png) [@Dereknocue67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dereknocue67)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2022, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-credit-from-zero-at-age-35/960302/33 "2022-03-06T13:26:00Z")
Oh yes, and that was the beginning of my credit history. ---
**Author:** ![Bootb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19b73/32.png) [@Bootb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootb)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2022, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-credit-from-zero-at-age-35/960302/34 "2022-03-06T15:31:09Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Credit karma is an Android app that gives you your credit scores and useful info about how to improve them. You get some ads, but it’s free, and very easy to use. My banker recommended it when i had similar questions. It’s actually a website, although I’m not surprised that they have an app to go with it. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2022, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-credit-from-zero-at-age-35/960302/35 "2022-03-06T18:32:14Z")
In my 20’s I wrecked my credit. In my 30’s I decided I had enough of dealing with debt so I worked to reduce all of my debt to as near zero as I could and live on a cash basis. By “cash” I mean I used my debit card almost exclusively. If I didn’t have the money I did not spend it. I kept one credit card for emergencies or renting cars (which required a credit card) and I made certain to use it occasionally. I also made certain to pay it off completely each month. There were occasions where I spent more than I could pay in one month (a vacation or medical issue) but I always paid more than the minimum payment and worked to slowly reduce it back to zero. In my 40’s I went to buy some property and was shocked that my credit rating was well over 750. I was kinda shocked. I was bummed to find that the lenders were kinda meh about it. As long as you were over 720 (or something like that…I forget) they didn’t really care and it didn’t really help lower my interest rate. Tl;Dr: It takes time but years of paying your debts reliably and having a low debt to income ratio will do wonders. But it will take some years unless she wins a lottery. Just consistently be a good debtor (pay your bills reliably) and lenders will like you. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2022, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-credit-from-zero-at-age-35/960302/36 "2022-03-06T22:47:09Z")
Cars also get handed down frequently. My first car was, and my kid has ended up with two of mine. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2022, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-credit-from-zero-at-age-35/960302/37 "2022-03-08T18:18:27Z")
Everyone can get a copy of their credit report for free, once every 12 months [https://www.ftc.gov/faq/consumer-protection/get-my-free-credit-report](https://www.ftc.gov/faq/consumer-protection/get-my-free-credit-report) My two kids now in their 20’s we’re getting cc offers as soon as they turned 18th and they had zero credit history. Of course some offers appeared predatory with exorbitant interest rates. They opened bank accounts and applied for visa/mc and we’re granted cards with like 5k limit. Both have scores in the mid 750’s. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2022, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-credit-from-zero-at-age-35/960302/38 "2022-03-08T18:30:26Z")
You can actually get free reports every week for now, because of the pandemic. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2022, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-credit-from-zero-at-age-35/960302/39 "2022-03-08T18:54:38Z")
Good to know and now I see that it’s been mentioned a few times already, worth repeating eh🤪 ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2022, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-credit-from-zero-at-age-35/960302/40 "2022-03-08T19:10:36Z")
> [@chela](#): > > My two kids now in their 20’s we’re getting cc offers as soon as they turned 18th and they had zero credit history. I wonder if the CC companies actively target kids of people who have good credit? It seems like they would be a relatively good risk. The kids may be more likely to have good money skills if their parents do. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-credit-from-zero-at-age-35/960302.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-credit-from-zero-at-age-35/960302.md?page=3)