October 2010 Weddings
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
s/o: Ages for CCs, loans, etc.
What age did you get your first... (if applicable):?
Major CC (visa, MC, etc):
Store CC (non-visa like Macys, Lowe's, etc):
Student Loan:
Car loan:
Mortgage:
Will you suggest your kids do something differently based on your own credit experience? Get a CC at 18, take out a SL to get credit, etc?
Re: s/o: Ages for CCs, loans, etc.
Major CC (visa, MC, etc): First year of college - age 18
Store CC (non-visa like Macys, Lowe's, etc): Last year - age 28
Student Loan: n/a - I was extremely fortunate, and my parents paid for my education
Car loan: My parents bought my first car for me, but I had to pay them back for half of it (my name was not on the loan); my second car was a hand-me-down when my mom got a new one; my third car was bought as my college graduation gift - they paid for the first year, then I took over the payments - my name was on the loan with my mom's. So I guess I was 21?
Mortgage: Age 23.
I hope that our children will be as responsible with their credit as I have been with mine. Again, I was fortunate in that I had parents who helped me out with a lot until I was on my own (meaning when I graduated from college and got a real job - I bought my first house with no help from my parents less than a year after graduation). This helped me get a solid foundation for my credit, however, since then, I've done just as well and maintain an "excellent" credit score.
I will say, however, that I am not as good at saving as I'd like to be...something I wish I had spent more time discussing with my dad over the years. He's trying to teach me now at the ripe age of almost 30!
I should also note that I always thought it was terrible that credit card companies would line up and set up shop at the student center in college giving away free t-shirts, etc., to anyone who opened a card. I think "incentives" like that ruin a lot of young peoples' credit. Colleges shouldn't allow these banks to make their cards so accessible on campus.
Megan & Chris
What age did you get your first... (if applicable):?
Major CC (visa, MC, etc): 16
Store CC (non-visa like Macys, Lowe's, etc): 17
Student Loan: N/A thank goodness
Car loan: 20
Mortgage: 26
Will you suggest your kids do something differently based on your own credit experience? Get a CC at 18, take out a SL to get credit, etc?
We plan to discuss this once they hit HS that way before they have one, we can make a plan for it. We plan to assist them with it in the beginning to establish their credit young.
We also hope to have nice 529 plans to eliminate student loan issues as much as possible.
Major CC (visa, MC, etc): Freshman year of college, 18, I was stupid and signed up for it to get a free sub sandwich. I never used the card and cancelled after my Gap card became a Gap-Visa card.
Store CC (non-visa like Macys, Lowe's, etc): Gap, 19 (it became a Gap-Visa when I was 20)
Student Loan: 21. I took out a total of $7K in SLs for my 8 semesters at a $30K+/yr university. I consider myself very lucky. I had paid internships during the summer and saved 90% of every check for school. But my parents did help out also, as well as scholarships.
Car loan: My parents bought my first car for me at 16 and then I bought myself a car at 21, which looking back was stupid b/c I sold it (to my mom) at 22 when I moved to Chicago.
Mortgage: n/a; plan is for 25.
Seeing how DH has struggled to build a credit score (he's never had any kind of loan, store CC, or major CC); I definitely want our kids to start building credit at 18, although I'm not sure if that'll be with a major CC with a low limit or how we'll start off.
Blog Sale
<a href="http://s582.photobucket.com/albums/ss262/hzswanson/?action=view
What age did you get your first... (if applicable):?
Major CC (visa, MC, etc): 18
Store CC (non-visa like Macys, Lowe's, etc): 18 - Sears
Student Loan: 18
Car loan: 20
Mortgage: 30-ish
Will you suggest your kids do something differently based on your own credit experience? Get a CC at 18, take out a SL to get credit, etc? Oh, for sure. I have always had good credit, but I'd still suggest they be a lot more wise than I was when I was a kid.
Missing our little turkey.
Estimated Due Date 11/13/12 | Natural Miscarriage 4/17/12
What age did you get your first... (if applicable):?
Major CC (visa, MC, etc): 17, when I was going off to college
Store CC (non-visa like Macys, Lowe's, etc): 19, I think?
Student Loan: 19, I took out a loan to help ease the burden on my dad who was paying for my schooling. He paid off my loan as my graduation present (which I wasn't expecting at all. I am so so lucky to have him.)
Car loan: N/A so far. My Dad signed over the car I learned to drive on, a 98 Honda CR-V to me 2 years ago (I had no need of a car in NYC) and I'm still driving it. Probably going to have to apply for one in the next year or so, since my car has almost 200,000 miles on it.
Mortgage: We bought it before we got married and it is in DH's name only right now, so N/A.
Will you suggest your kids do something differently based on your own credit experience? Get a CC at 18, take out a SL to get credit, etc?
I really hope that we can be to our kids what my parents have been for me. My dad has been so fiscally responsible his whole life. He never bought a car on credit (he would start saving for the next car when he bought the new one with cash) and they always tried to live on one salary so that my mother's salary could go straight in to savings. We never seemed to have a lot of money growing up, but when it came down to it, my dad was able to graduate all 3 of his girls from college without any debt, and I hope that we will one day be able to do the same.
Establishing credit is important but I'm not crazy about getting a loan to do it. Things like opening a credit card in your name and getting a cellphone in your name can do the same thing over time. I would definitely warn my children about reading the fine print in contracts, particularly for loans to avoid the car loan issue we are having with Nick's car and penalties for early payment.
-->Major CC (visa, MC, etc): I was 19 and got like 3 at once with way too high credit limits; it was a really stupid mistake that I regret constantly.
Store CC (non-visa like Macys, Lowe's, etc): 16 for Fashion Bug, it was only a $200.00 limit to start though which was perfect for me.
Student Loan: 18?I received a lot of financial aid though so it was only a few thousand dollars to pay back.
Car loan: My Mom co-signed for me on my first car when I was 15 for obvious reasons, then she co-signed again for me on my second car when I was 21 because my credit wasn?t very good and I was only working part time. When I was 25, just last May, I got approved on my own for my current car loan?I was so stinkin? proud lol.
Mortgage: No mortgage yet?just rent for now, but I did get us approved for that based on my credit score.
Will you suggest your kids do something differently based on your own credit experience? Oh heck yes?I would let them know how badly I f-ed myself over with credit card debt, ruining my credit for years, and just how hard it really is to bring your credit back up. I never realized when I was younger just how important good credit is for so many things in life; I?m sure my parents told me, but I guess I didn?t listen. I think I?d start my kids with a credit card with a very low limit, a couple hundred dollars max, when they start working part time. That way they can pay it off monthly.
What age did you get your first... (if applicable):?
Major CC (visa, MC, etc): 20
Store CC (non-visa like Macys, Lowe's, etc): 18
Student Loan: Never had one
Car loan: 22
Mortgage: Don't have one yet
Will you suggest your kids do something differently based on your own credit experience? Get a CC at 18, take out a SL to get credit, etc?
I will definitely recommend they do something differently. Having debt has limited my freedom and options so many times. In my early 20's I viewed my credit line as cash available, so I was in the habit of spending over my means for years. I've always had great credit (after acquiring debt, of course). My credit score now is 793. But in my late 20's I started to see that having great credit was meaningless if you haven't learned to manage your money and actually build wealth. So Matt and I are now in the process of rapidly paying off our debt, and once we do we will not go into debt again (except for our house).
I hope that my kids never go into debt. Hopefully they will see the choices that Matt and I make, and we will educate them from an early age on how to manage their money, and they won't ever need to be in debt. You can get a mortgage without previous credit. It's called manual underwriting, and while lenders are more cautious about doing that these days, they still do. You just have to have a sizeable down payment with extra money in the bank, which I think is the best way to buy a house anyway.
My hope for my kids is that they learn to live below their means, and that they are never trapped by debt.
Major CC (visa, MC, etc): 18
Store CC (non-visa like Macys, Lowe's, etc): N/A
Student Loan: N/A
Car loan: 25 (paid off early, and got a new car at 28 since 2-door car didn't work with my new job)
Mortgage: 31 (although DH bought the condo we're in at 22)
Will you suggest your kids do something differently based on your own credit experience? Get a CC at 18, take out a SL to get credit, etc? Absolutely would recommend to use CC more than I did (I used occasionally for the first several years), and establish a second credit card sooner to have multiple lines of good credit.
So true!
Megan & Chris
Trip to Prague & bring home furbaby when we get back
~ Karen ~
**Wedding/House/Travel Bio **
What age did you get your first... (if applicable):?
Major CC (visa, MC, etc): I think I was 19, I only had a $500 limit, that was through a credit union my aunt worked at. Then I got on at my credit union that also only had a $500 limit. I just moved up to a $5000 limit on a joint CC that DH and I have together. We have gotten rid of all other major CC's.
Store CC (non-visa like Macys, Lowe's, etc): 18 Maurice's or Von Maur, then it started to spiral out of control from there.
Student Loan: Never had to have student loans.
Car loan: 21, my first car was a hand-me-down from my mom, I was in a wreck and the car was totaled so I bought my first car in 2007 and I paid it off in 2010. Last January (2010) I bought my 2nd car and traded it in on my first brand new car in December (2010).
Mortgage: DH bought the house when we first started dating so I am not on the mortgage but it is paid out of our joint account.
Will you suggest your kids do something differently based on your own credit experience? Get a CC at 18, take out a SL to get credit, etc?
I will definitely talk to my children more about finances than my mom did with me. My aunt kept me out of financial trouble but I still had spent way more than what I had made and I lived for quite I few years with nothing in my savings. I am very proud that DH and I have been able to pay everything off and can now being saving more than we were.
Major CC (visa, MC, etc): 18, when I left for college
Store CC (non-visa like Macys, Lowe's, etc): 18, I got a Sears card to pay for my electric typewriter. (Yes, I am old enough to have used a typewriter my first year of college.)
Student Loan: 20. I was lucky enough to have my dad pay for a portion of my tuition out of his retirement fund the first two years, and it was supplemented by a scholarship. I lost the scholarship, though, and my dad and I had, hmm, let's go with "differences of opinion" on a lot of things right around that time, so I took out loans to cover what grants and my other scholarship didn't.
Car loan: 24, though my mom had to co-sign it with me, because I was a donkey with my finances.
Mortgage: hahaha, yeah right. Maybe when we're 60, the way the market here is.
Will you suggest your kids do something differently based on your own credit experience? Get a CC at 18, take out a SL to get credit, etc? I'll definitely counsel my kid to be smarter than I was with credit. It all felt like play money, and I opened up way too many cards for my own good. I was still paying off the college cards a few years ago, and my credit score has only recently recovered.
Store CC (non-visa like Macys, Lowe's, etc): 26
Student Loan: 28
Car loan: n/a
Mortgage: n/a
Will you suggest your kids do something differently based on your own credit experience? Get a CC at 18, take out a SL to get credit, etc? hmmmm I would encourage them not to get a car just like I didn't, and to concentrate on school rather than their credit and money.
What age did you get your first... (if applicable):?
Major CC (visa, MC, etc): 22 (Still have this card. $500 Visa from a credit union)
Store CC (non-visa like Macys, Lowe's, etc): 22 (Just a few months after my major CC, Kohl's when I worked there & I still have it)
Student Loan: 22
Car loan: 21
Mortgage: N/A
Will you suggest your kids do something differently based on your own credit experience? Get a CC at 18, take out a SL to get credit, etc?
GET A CC @ 18! That is the best way to build credit. SLs do, but since you don't pay on them right away, you can't rack up a good payment history. My 1st credit was my car loan, & it kind of helped, but I did need a co-signer & could have gotten a better rate had that not been my 1st extension of credit.
What age did you get your first... (if applicable):?
Major CC (visa, MC, etc): 18
Store CC (non-visa like Macys, Lowe's, etc): Best Buy at 16 - mom cosigned.
Student Loan: Never
Car loan: Never
Mortgage: None yet.
Will you suggest your kids do something differently based on your own credit experience? Get a CC at 18, take out a SL to get credit, etc? Zach has student loans, and we've already decided that we'll cosign on a card with them at an early age (16/17) to start their credit and teach them how to manage it. We've already got a CD set up to put towards initial college expenses, and whatever we can't afford, they'll have to get loans for. My parents worked it so that they paid for my college until I got married - luckily, I'd already graduated, but if I go back to further my degree, it's on us.