How to Build a Good Credit History

My second article at the Penny Thots site, 6 Key Steps to Building a Good Credit History, went live last week and I thought I'd share here, as well. The steps I list are:

1. Get a Bank Account
2. Get a Steady Job
3. Get Some Credit
4. Make All Your Payments on Time
5. Keep Your Credit Card Balances Low
6. Monitor Your Credit

Under the third step, Get Some Credit, I suggest three ways to do so:

• Get a Credit Card on Your Own
• Get Added to a Credit Card Account
• Get a Co-signer

Now, for my readers here, I'd like to clarify. I am NOT suggesting that anyone co-sign any loan - EVER. I don't care who it is or what it's for. NEVER CO-SIGN.

And I'd also recommend against adding anybody to an existing credit card account, except MAYBE under extremely limited and tightly controlled circumstances.

So why did I add those things to my article at Penny Thots? Simply because those are ways to build a good credit history, which is the subject of the article and I want to be thorough. I guess now I need to work on an article or two warning against co-signing and adding someone to your credit card account.