What to do next?

[Anonymous]

Hi all,

I am new to the credit card world other than a discover it I got back in 2017 as a freshman in college. I have applied and received 5 cards intersperced since then, and built up a good little TCL (total credit limit) around almost 30k at 22 years old. My most recent card I received was a full month ago as of yesterday, so what do you think would be the next best thing to do to build up my credit score? I am currently sitting at EXP: 732 EQ: 745 TR: 739 as fico score 8's. Thanks! (all my cards I have are in my siggy)

[Anonymous]

You’re off to a terrific start with some great cards. Next step?

Nothing.

Don’t apply for the next 12 months. Just tend to your accounts, pay your bills, keep utilization low, and let your reports age. You have a very young average account age. Let it marinate for a year, work on SP CLIs with Amex, Disco, and CapOne. One key to credit building is to not apply just because it’s been a couple months since you applied. App for credit when it’s needed.

You’re doing everything right - just keep it up and you’ll be all but bulletproof. And now, while you don’t have a mortgage or car payment that you’ve mentioned, is a great time to start socking money away into an emergency fund. Congrats on starting so strongly!

[CreditInspired]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hi all,

I am new to the credit card world other than a discover it I got back in 2017 as a freshman in college. I have applied and received 5 cards intersperced since then, and built up a good little TCL (total credit limit) around almost 30k at 22 years old. My most recent card I received was a full month ago as of yesterday, so what do you think would be the next best thing to do to build up my credit score? I am currently sitting at EXP: 732 EQ: 745 TR: 739 as fico score 8's. Thanks! (all my cards I have are in my siggy)

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Why do you feel you need another card? It's untrue you need another card to build credit score. Three cards are the maximum cards needed for optimal scoring. So to increase your scores, just continue to pay on time and keep utilization less than 28.9% (preferably 8.9%). On-time payments and aging your CCs are the only thing needed to increase your scores. It's all about time.

[CreditInspired]

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@Anonymous wrote:
You’re off to a terrific start with some great cards. Next step?

Nothing.

Don’t apply for the next 12 months. Just tend to your accounts, pay your bills, keep utilization low, and let your reports age. You have a very young average account age. Let it marinate for a year, work on SP CLIs with Amex, Disco, and CapOne. One key to credit building is to not apply just because it’s been a couple months since you applied. App for credit when it’s needed.

You’re doing everything right - just keep it up and you’ll be all but bulletproof. And now, while you don’t have a mortgage or car payment that you’ve mentioned, is a great time to start socking money away into an emergency fund. Congrats on starting so strongly!

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good advice here

[Anonymous]

If you felt like you are missing a large chunk of potential reward for your spending, it would be worth planning it out. SO the question is how is your spending habit? Where do you spend and how much in each category?

It is always tough to resist the urge to app, but it does need to be planned out, spaced out, gardened out.

[Anonymous]

Yeah I completely agree, I was curious what the best plan of action was since I hadn't had a lot of experience being relatively new to this. I did not plan on actively seeking any more credit cards but really was looking to learn more about the process in increasing my scores.

I'm currently finishing my senior year in college, so my spending habits usually consist of gas, food, and occasional entertainment (movies etc) normally totalling around $300-$350 not including rent. I don't have any car payments or anything like that, and I don't have to start making payments on my student loans until somewhere around August of next year. I do not carry balances on any of my cards (if I don't have the money in savings or checkings, I don't buy it), so really it was about making sure I was making the right decisions from where I am now.

Any suggestions?

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Yeah I completely agree, I was curious what the best plan of action was since I hadn't had a lot of experience being relatively new to this. I did not plan on actively seeking any more credit cards but really was looking to learn more about the process in increasing my scores.

I'm currently finishing my senior year in college, so my spending habits usually consist of gas, food, and occasional entertainment (movies etc) normally totalling around $300-$350 not including rent. I don't have any car payments or anything like that, and I don't have to start making payments on my student loans until somewhere around August of next year.

Any suggestions?

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As others have said, you're good on the credit front.

If you have any spare cash each month, go ahead and start paying the student loans early.  Continue living on your college budget after you finish school and start working.

Start looking up FIRE blogs (financial independence retire early) and read stories about folks your age that enter the workforce and are retired with plenty of money by 40 (or earlier!)

You are in an amazing position and stage of your life to be majorly financially secure.