Where Can I Get a Free Credit Report

While you're establishing a good credit track record, it's important to maintain steady employment. If you have either no credit history or a negative one, your income has to be the main indicator of your credit worthiness.

The first step is to open a checking account and a savings account. Until you have a credit record, the checking account can show others that you've paid utilities, rent or other bills on time. The savings account would indicate your ability to budget and not overspend your income.

The next step is to apply for a local department store credit card or an oil company credit card. These are the easiest to obtain with little or no credit. Because oil companies and local department stores usually don't report their accounts to credit reporting agencies, you'll need to ask them to do so.

If you're unable to get one of these types of credit cards virtually anyone with a job and a few hundred dollars can get a secured credit card. The credit card bank will set your credit limit based on how much you have for a deposit. Within six to eighteen months, if you've paid your bills on time, you should be able to get an unsecured card through the same bank. If you can't wait to establish your own credit history, then rely on someone else's credit by getting them to be a cosigner.

If after you apply for credit you're turned down, the law requires the creditor to notify you within thirty days with the reason for the denial. And once you resolve the reason for the denial, you can reapply and repeat this process as you build up your credit.