@Anonymous wrote:So is it easier to get a credit card thru the credit union vs a regular bank? Or would I have to do the secure credit card thing also. I'm going to talk to my bank and find out what I can do there. Those other secured credit cards ie. public savings bank etc. don't remove you from a secure to an unsecured after so long and I'd really like to find one that does.
The handy thing about credit unions is that they are set up exactly for people like you. Essentially, it's members banding together and loaning one another money.
Many locally-based banks, as opposed to the corner branch of Amalgamated MegaBanks'R'Us, will do the same, because they are attuned to their local communities. There's no telling in advance whether those in your community will give you an unsecured card first or insist that you start with secured, and also whether they will unsecure you on down the road. Lenders who might once have taken a chance are now a lot more conservative as a result of the giant fiasco that banks created for us over the last few years. 
Maybe JUST to get you started (vs applying for a secured credit card), see about adding yourself as an AU on credit accounts your husband already has established. Let them report a few months, then get your car loan and/or an unsecured credit card. I'm sure you've contributed to the usage/payments on the credit cards in your husband's name, get the "credit" where "credit" is deserved. Many companies report authorized users, jut look at some of his more positive accounts, maybe even list them here and we can let you know which one's report AU's. Youd want to choose ones with lower balances and longer history. Just a thought....
It is never a good idea to have ALL of the household expenses, loans & credit in one person's name. YOU need to look out for you. God forbid, but if something ever happened to him, you would have nothing in your name...nothing to fall back on as a safety net.
You need positive credit in your name. Credit unions are the way to go, without a doubt.
