Financial Question

[Liesje]

OK, I'm 19, going to be a college junior, and have LOTS o' debt thanks to student loans. I don't have any credit cards, just a checking account with a debit card and Paypal. I've paid all my rent bills and utility bills on time. I've got a question about my future "credit": One of my larger loans does charge interest and they send me a bill every month for the interest payment. But, they also say I'm not required to pay the interest. I've been paying it each month, but lately have been running a little short so I didn't make any interest payments all summer. Will this give me bad credit? I mean, they send a bill w/ a due date and everything, but I'm not required to pay or penalized. If I pay even though I don't have to, will I get some brownie points on my future credit history?

EDIT: I don't make payments on the principle of these loans yet b/c I'm still a full time student.

 

[nbcrusader]

If your loan obligation does not require you to pay interest, it should not show up on your credit.

You might give your lender a call and see how they treat the accruing interest and payments prior to graduation.

 

[Liesje]

OK. I'm going to try and pay what's accumulated in the past few months, but I just didn't want it to show up later that sometimes I wait 3-4 months to pay.

 

[U2Kitten]

From what I hear, it's very easy, TOO easy for college kids to get loads of credit cards. When I went bankrupt last year the lawyer told me the number of people going bankrupt under 21 was staggering and upsetting. She said a lot of credit card companies give way too much credit to people with little or no means to pay. If you do get a card, try not to get one of those with 29% interest. They suck the life outa you

 

[Liesje]

Unless someone gives me a good reason to, I have no intention of getting a credit card. Now that debit cards work in almost as many places, and there's still check or cash, I see no point. Why pay interest on loaned money when I can just hold off on the spending sprees until I get an actual paycheck?

The student loans are different b/c even working 40+ hrs a week all summer and almost 30 hrs a week while being a full-time student, that barely covers the cost of rent, utilities, food, and books, let alone the $25,000 per year for tuition, plus the extra $3360 for the program in Africa. There's absolutely no way short of winning the lottery that I can afford school without the student loans (even after considering I'm a good student and get scholarships).

 

[nbcrusader]

Best thing you can do right now is not have a credit card. You are handling this admirably!

 

[Liesje]

Best thing you can do right now is not have a credit card. You are handling this admirably!

No problem, I've never been tempted by them. Someone giving you money in the form of a magnetic strip? Sorry, just sounds WAY too good to be true. I think I'd rather pay a deposit to establish credit.

 

[ylimeU2]

I have no advice for you, but I want to say I admire you for taking all that on, LivLuv. I didn't go to college right out of high school (long explanation), and while I'm going part-time now, it's going to take me forever, because I'm trying not to go into debt, so I only take classes when I can afford to. I hope you get everything worked out.