Am I doing everything right?

[Anonymous]

So I am 19 since July. I plan on going into the banking industry. I want to be a Loan Officer and I read a article about having to have a Good Credit report to get the License to be a MLO in the state of Texas. So I went in to my bank BTW I have also applied at the bank for a teller position ACED the test and they want me to interview all the time but the interview is in dallas thats like 200 miles away. Mom wont let me drive my car that far. I think its the trafic shes worried about but o well. 

So I went into the Bank 3 weeks ago and asked about establilishing credit they said well ur in college so you could apply for the college card its a rewards card. So I applied and was denied they came back and counteroffered the secured card so i went with a $300 deposit / $300 limit. Anual fee $25 APR 18.9X% 

so as long as I pay it off each month it will be no intrest right? Then I also applied for capital ones secured card $99 deposit / $200 limit $29 anual fee APR 22.4% again payoff each month. 

I got them in the mail last week really happy and put them in my wallet. I was temped to go shopping but no job and only $600 left in savings and have to put in $30 of gas each week. I still live at home so thats really my only expense or when I eat with friends. So we went to the movie mom gave me $12 well prices went up $1 so I when hum.. I will just charge it and monday I will go by the atm and put in $14 and scheduel a payment. Well I told my mom I just charged it and I needed 2 more dollars she almost went crazy saying credit cards are all evil but I was like not if I am staying below 20% utizilation and pay in full and on time? Right? She gave me the $2 and she now wants to take the cards and call them up and cancle them but I dont I want to keep them they are secured and if i did max them out I could 1 cancle them then or deplete all my savings and shread them and leave them open. 

Should I call the bank and capital one and say she is going to try to cancle them and not to let her. oh and like she asked how did i get approved with no job or "income?" Well me and the banker looked at my college statment and what i got from fastfa, (3,500) this semster and estimateed 3,500 more next time and then what my dad gives me its like child support but now he gives it to me mom dosent know though its usually a $100 but he always says he might not be able to keep on paying me cause he still is paying the same rate before I graduated. Then I have a large family and got graduation money and scholarships $1,500. The banker said thats a total of $700 per month. 

[Walt_K]

Your mom can't cancel a card you applied for in your own name.  The bank won't even talk to her about your account unless authorized to do so.

Yes, if you pay in full before due date, you will pay no interest.

As for utilization, general rule of thumb is 9% or less on one card, and $0 balances on all other cards for best scoring.  The number that is reported is the number on your bill, so you can use the card more than 9% if you want to, so long as you pay it down to 9% or less before the statement closes.  Example, your statement close date is the 24th of the month.  You charge $100 on your card with $300 limit.  So long as you pay it down to $27 or less before the 24th, only that balance will report and  you will be at 9% or less utilization.  You then pay the bill in full by the due date. 

That's for optimal credit scoring.  It's really not a big deal if you let that $100 report.  Your utilization would be a little high that month, but you can correct it the next month.  FICO has no memory, so it wouldn't matter for scoring purposes if you carried a $100 balance for several months and then paid it off.  The month you pay it off, after it reports, you are scored at that time only.  It doesn't consider what your utilization was over time.   

[llecs]

Depending on your CC agreement, paying in full monthly will eliminate the worry for interest charges. A small few CCs do accrue interest on a daily basis so keep that in mind when studying your agreement.

I wouldn't call the bank. I would become dependent from your folks and rely on your own income for your own financial decisions, like travelling places for job interviews. But you need to get in a position to do so and it starts with income outside of education income.

[Shogun]

+1  She should not be able to cancel those, nor should she want to.  You have a goal, and don't need to be held back from reaching those goals.  I don't want to get into the whole parenting aspect of that, but I believe you have good intentions and a good grasp of financial responsibility.