Some local professionals advise people looking to establish credit to proceed with caution. Some say getting a store credit card first is the way to go while others suggest using an established relationship with a bank to get credit going.
Q: How should one go about establishing a credit record?
* Name: Ward Petty
* Age: 45
* Occupation: branch manager/vice president Wachovia Securities
“To me, the best way to establish credit is to go ahead and establish a bank account early and to go to some local vendors, some local type stores. I know when I was starting up, I would go to places like Ira Trivers, Hardie & Caudle, T.H. Payne, some local folks that would take a credit account and then I would ask them if they would charge it and then I would then pay the bill off.”
* Name: Jim Winsett
* Age: 65
* Occupation: CEO of the Chattanooga Better Business Bureau
“The first thing one wants to have done is to establish a checking and a savings account — they would want to do those two things prior to applying for a credit card, and then as they apply for the credit card what that says to the credit card company is that, ‘I am financially astute, I am financially educated and I am taking the right steps.’”
* Name: Robin Derryberry
* Age: 47
* Occupation: owner of Derryberry Public Relations
“I would recommend having no more than one credit card at a time so that you can build and establish your credit. Be very careful with credit cards because it is very tempting to use it when it’s not necessary. You have to ask yourself, do you really need that new pair of shoes? And more often than not, the answer is no.”
* Name: Curt Gwaltney
* Age: 43
* Occupation: chief operating officer of Citizens Savings and Loan
“The only way to really establish a credit rating is to make monthly payments. (Creditors) want to see a track record of making monthly payments, typically six months or longer. Probably the best place to do it is to get your parents to co-sign a loan for you with their bank, go put the money back in the bank and let them autodraft the payments out of that savings account.”
Compiled by Amy O. Williams.
