Show establish 1 S a IS Your our Credit re I i Martha Carter Contributing Writer At age eighteen suddenly sudden sudden- ly the world becomes a communal oyster an and d everything is up for grabs Moving out of the house isan is isan isan an option voting is an official official official cial right and independence becomes the word of the day The government recognizes n e this his parents recognize nize this and so do the most interested of these parties credit card companies Cheryl Strachan remembers remembers bers turning eighteen four years ago and immediately getting her first credit card then her second then her third I didn't care I that the debt was wass pil piK pH ingup in ini J but I had just moved moed out outi-Jf outi T. T was broke and I didn't dIdn't did dId- nt have a job I just figured figured figured fig fig- Id I'd pay it off later sa said d Cheryl now nearly in debt Cheryl's story is familiar to many young people especially students Sharon Lanier is is a branch manager at America First Credit Union She sees young people every day eager to purchase theIr then first car or home When approving someone for aloan a aloan aloan loan Lanier first looks at an individuals individual's credit rat rat- ing This is a history of a persons person's credit Unfortunately creditors do not take into consideration tion the pressures of school holding time part-time jobs fobs kids or other extenuating extenuating extenuating circumstances They look at accumulated debt longevity and timeliness of payments Other factors involved are job stability living s situation and of course income I see a lot of young people people people peo peo- who think that the way to establish credit is by getting getting getting get get- ting lots of different credit cards That can only hurt you The best thing to do isget isget is isget get one credit card for a couple years and make the payments paY on time said Lanier Lamer Lanier Another good way to establish cre credit it is to use use signer co-signer on a loan The bank is more likely to approve a loan when someone someone someone some some- one with a solid credit rating rating rating rat rat- ing is involved When a consumer does accumulate debt through several different creditors sometimes its it's best to consolidate consolidate con- con rather than pay high interest rates Cheryl attended a credit counseling counseling counseling counsel counsel- ing service which advised her to consolidate her debt into one monthly payment This way the loan pays off all my other 1 accounts and then I make 1 one payment to them she said Its saving me a lot lotof lotof of money on interest jl The other alternative to j eliminating debt is known 1 as bankruptcy According to Lanier Utah has the highest r rate te of bankruptcy j I in 10 the nation nahon i Bankruptcy is intended j for those who are so far in debt they cannot possibly repay what they owe owe There a are e major consequences consequences consequences conse conse- mv involved Banks and credit unions are usually usually usual- usual ly unwilling to lend to j j those who have filed Also it takes several years to i develop a positive credit t rating r Many students use credit cards when struggling to pay tuition fees Along wi with student loans these habits A can send someone into a tailspin of debt when school is finally over i Students usually do deferred payments on loans so they dont don't owe any money or interest until after school said Lanier The smart thing if possible possible possible ble is to make small payments pay pay- payments payments ments on the loan while in m See Credit continued on page 10 Credit continued from page 5 school because that money should go right to the balance Lanier stated that while 1 financial institutions try to accommodate students they must take the amount of the loan into tion The world of credit comes across as a catch two twenty Without any credit history its it's impossible to receive a aloan aloan aloan loan but accumulating too much debt can lead to the same demise Cheryl learned the hard way but butis butis butis is now heading toward the light of financial freedom at the end of her rid debt den tunnel Said Sharon Lanier It takes a long longtime longtime longtime time to build good credit but no time at all to destroy it it |