It is an all too often scenario that people find themselves in these days; credit trouble. When credit trouble hits it may leave you with many headaches one of which includes trying to re-establish your credit when all the trouble is over. Even though it is credit cards that may have been the culprit in getting you into credit trouble, there is also a certain kind of credit card that can help you get out of trouble.
A secured credit card is one that is, well, secured. These types of credit cards are usually issued through banks and anyone can obtain one regardless of past credit history. These types of credit cards are not only ideal for those who are in the process of re-building credit, but they can also be perfect if you are just starting out and trying to establish credit in the first place. Here is how they work.
First find a financial institution such as your bank that issues secure credit cards and then make an appointment to go sit down with one of the bank finance employees. Once there they will explain the process of obtaining the secure credit card and for the most part it will go as follows:
• You give the bank a certain amount of money such as $500 as a deposit.
• The bank then issues you a secured credit card with a credit limit for $500.
• You then charge and use your credit card like any other and make monthly payments.
This represents a no risk situation for the bank as they already have your $500 so if you should fall behind or decide not to pay what you charge on the secured credit card they are fully covered. If however you make your monthly minimum payments then you will eventually get your deposit back (plus a little interest) and the secured credit card will then become a regular credit card. The amount of time depends on the financial institution and can range from six months to over a year, so be sure to ask
However you must use caution as a secured credit card, like a regular credit card, will charge interest if the balance is not paid in full each month. While that is not the best news, the good news is that most secured credit card activity is reported to all the major credit bureaus and if you maintain the account in good standing you will slowly begin to build your credit score back up.
