How can my husband build credit when no one will give him a chance?

Your best bet is for him to apply for a secured credit card. You deposit cash with the lender usually up to the limit of the card, so they have no risk. Then he can use it and start building a credit history. Check with a bank or credit union.

@Adirondackwannabe Ohh, that makes sense.
We were also thinking of adding him as an authorized user on my major credit card. It’s what my parents did for me when I was 16, and I truly think it helped build my credit. but the bad part is they haven’t taken me off, so it looks like I have a lot of debt that they have.

@casheroo I’d be careful with the user thing. Also, do you know exactly what your liabilty is on your parents cards? If their showing up on your credit report you may have some issues if anything happened to your parents.

I would get a full credit report done on you and then personally and in writing contact each creditor on the list and see what can be done to get them removed from the report. That will take the black marks off your report and then reapply to department stores and CC Companies. My guess is your credit report history has a lot of old history that is no longer applicable and just needs to be tidied up!

Even see if you can buy something with store credit, an appliance, furniture as they are pretty aggressive when wanting to make a sale. Buy it and pay it off.

As has been stated, get a complete credit report. You can even get one for free, and it isn’t a scam (I use it). You’ll have to be aggressive in eliminating old marks, and it will take time.

He should be able to be approved for a Capital One credit card with a $500 limit. They are a reputable company, but known for “giving people a chance” to re-establish themselves if they have messed up a little bit in the past (or if they don’t yet have much credit). It has a $39 annual fee and reasonable rate of interest, but that shouldn’t matter anyway because you should never get to the point of accumulating interest on it. Just use it to establish credit… so pay for things with it, but then pay back the entire balance each month. :)

@shilolo Wait, I thought that stuff disappeared after 7 years? They didn’t say he had bad credit, they said he didn’t have established credit.

@girlofscience That was my first credit card at 18, and they slowly upped the rate as the years went on, and so did the interest! I’m glad I closed that card! We hadn’t tried them yet, but it’s worth a shot!

@casheroo It never disappears. Check for yourself.

I don’t have any credit, and no one would approve anything, until I found out about prepaid credit cards. You’ll get charged a lot of interest, but it will build your credit.

I read that a low limit credit card, or one that is actually prepaid, is a good way to start. Also, a small loan from a bank (like $100) with a co-signor is a way to start.

The best way is to take out a small bank loan (even if you have to deposit some money as collateral) and make the payment in full and on time. You have to prove yourself. That’s it, bottom line!