Give Your Kids the Gift of a Good Credit Score

My son, a tween, asked me for a credit card.  I was super suspicious or as he would say “Sus” because he spends a LOT of time online gaming and this is a mine field of scams.  Ok, what do you want this credit card for?  He said that just wants some independence to know he can make purchases.  He has a small savings account with some chore money in it that he wanted to access.  I vetoed that, afraid he would quickly run through that on garbage. So I did some research. There are  few cards out there for kids that build credit and also act a debit cards.  Of course, these charge fees.  So what is free? You can add a user to your credit card.  They get their own credit card in the mail with their name on it.  Their credit starts building from that point based on your spending, usage, and payments.  Obviously, you really have to trust your kid to not run up a bill on crazy things.  Here were my rules:

  •          This is for emergencies
  •         This can also be used when you are out with your friends and need money
  •           Both of the above uses need text approval
  •         Never ever give anyone this information, even if it seems legit.  It could ruin my credit and our lives.
  •           Never ever use this on the internet.

If your credit isn’t great, obviously this isn’t the best option. You would be saddling your kid with your past transgressions. Get your credit right, your habits right, before you do this. Try a debit option for them like one of the paid services if you really want to give them a different credit start than you had.  I grew up with very very little money in a family that didn’t understand the importance of credit. As a result, it took me five years to establish a strong credit score that allowed me to buy a house at a low interest rate, buy a car a zero precent interest, defer deposits on utilities, get hired at a bank (most check your credit score before they hire you!) and benefit from a host of other advantages.  Give your kids the gift of a good credit score.


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