Building Credit?

[Anonymous]

i have a two year old son, (maybe a little early to be thinking about his credit) and i have heard rumors that creating a credit account on which i am the cosignor or guarantor can help to build his credit such that when he is 18 and eligible to go out and get credit on his own he will already have a well aged file. is this possible?

[Anonymous]

I would say the he is way to young.....I started all mt kids at age 16.....I added them a an AU....that might not be possible for you because of the new scoring that will go into effect soon.

The way things stand now....I would wait till he is 16 & behaving & open a joint account with you....make it no more then $300.......IF AU are available  use that!

Message Edited by HappyDays on 04-03-2008 11:41 AM

[Anonymous]

well i would never give him the credit card,it would be like an 18th birthday present,"here's your 720 FICO, happy birthday." but if the scoring practice is changing would it be better to do it now before the changes take effect?

i guess my question is would credit card companies even allow it? and if so woudl it show on his report when he reaches that age?

[Anonymous]

The earliest you can have a report is age 14 I believe.

My mom Au'd me onto her accounts (didn't even know it at the time) - you can do a Joint with him around age 16 on 3-4 cards (don't give him his card though) - and build a 2 year history for him by age 18.  That will give him 4 positive TLs for his 18th birthday

[MidnightVoice]

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Im_doing_it_right wrote:

well i would never give him the credit card,it would be like an 18th birthday present,"here's your 720 FICO, happy birthday." but if the scoring practice is changing would it be better to do it now before the changes take effect?

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The AU thingie will go away for ever fairly soon - certainly by the time he is old enough to have a CRA.  There will be no grandfathering in

[MidnightVoice]

Teaching him how to manage money will never be a bad thing 

[Anonymous]

well, thanks for all the responses. maybe i'll just have to issues a bank of Dad card to help him learn the resonsibility.

[braznyc]

Wow he's 2, love it! I agree with Midnight, teaching him those values is great, but I'd wait until he was older and could absorb it all.