When I first started my job at AAII back in 2017, I wanted to buy a new work wardrobe and my mom took us to Macy’s. She said, “If you get a Macy’s credit card, then you can get all of your clothes here and not have to pay for everything at once.” When I checked out with my new clothes, the cashier opened a Macy’s credit card for me. I had to talk on the phone to some guy who asked me for my Social Security number, my date of birth and my address, among other invasive questions. It felt a bit like an airport interrogation (one time when I had just turned 18, I left my government ID behind and had to tell someone the last names of my neighbors—I never forgot it again!), but after about 10 minutes I had my very first credit card.
I used my fancy new Macy’s credit card whenever I bought things from Macy’s, and then when I moved out on my own in 2018, I opened a credit card with Wayfair so that I could put all of my new furniture on the card and pay it off over time. Thankfully, I was able to pay off my store credit cards without incurring interest, and the Wayfair card allowed me to not pay interest for up to 24 months (the number of months varies depending on how much you spend). I paid everything in full within the year.
However, I’ve never had a proper credit card from a bank. I use my debit card for almost all of my purchases. Why? To be honest, credit cards—and credit in general—scare me!
First of all, what is credit? Credit gives you the ability to borrow money and pay it back later. But I like to see exactly where my money is going, and not be surprised by how much I’ve spent at the end of the month when it’s time to pay the bill. With my debit card, I see exactly what my purchases are and can budget accordingly. But with a credit card, my brain goes all theoretical and then I have to do math and that’s not a fun time! (I recently learned that I could pay off a credit card throughout the month if I want, instead of waiting until my statement arrives, which makes me feel infinitely better!)
Now, whenever I buy something online and a website offers Afterpay, Klarna, PayPal Pay in 4 or Sezzle, I choose it. Not only does this make my bank account happy, since I don’t have to spend all my money at once, it has also raised and maintained my credit score for the last year and a half! Most of these companies that allow you to pay later also don’t charge you interest if you pay within a certain period of time, meaning that you will still be spending the same amount of money whether you pay for it all when you buy it or stretch it out over four or more payments. Most of these pay-later options take your money automatically, but make sure that you pay these installments on time, or else you’ll get pounded with late fees!
I’ve gotten my credit score to a good place (700+), which helped me to be approved for my apartment and will further help me to be approved for an actual bank credit card.
I primarily use Credit Karma to check my credit score, but it also includes offers for credit cards and shows how likely I am to be approved for different cards. After doing some research, it looks like the “Discover it” credit card is a great option for me. There are no annual fees, I can use it at Woodman’s (and buy infinite amounts of cheese!) and I can get 5% cash back on groceries, restaurant meals and more. (AAII worked with Discover to get you some other sweet deals here.)
Signing up for a credit card was super easy, but if my credit score had been lower and I hadn’t done anything to raise it over the last year, it would have been harder to find a credit card that I could get approved for. I’ll keep you all updated on how my credit card journey continues—I’m still freaked out by the possibility and the power!