How can I raise my credit score?

I am nearly 30 and have never had a credit card. I rent my apartment, bought my (used) car with cash, and have never taken a loan. I hate debt. I have a reasonable amount of savings. However, this means that I have no credit. What steps can I take to get my credit score up reasonably quickly. How many credit cards? What type? Should I take a loan just to pay it off? Should I leave a balance on the credit card? Thanks a lot for the help.

Public Comments

1. If you rent your apartment, you have a credit HISTORY. There's more to a credit score then just a credit card history. Try to get a low-interest gas card or something you won't be tempted to overuse. Simply pay it off each month.
2. you have to start with small things like catalogs. once they see how you manage your payments they will be more willing to give you credit.
3. you dont have to get an official credit card. you can get one like they have at a money tree or any check cashing place where you can load money onto a visa, master card, american express and that way you can obtain credit that YOU can control.
4. Easiest way to build credit is to have a card, make sure you make all your monthly payments (most companies allow you to do all this online without having to mail anything). When you put a balance on your card, it's not best to pay it off right away, just keep making monthly payments, which is the easiest way to raise your credit, just by using a card. So to sum it up, put things on your card (but don't go crazy) make small monthly payments, like 50-100 a month, and just continue on like that. I'd suggest trying to pick up a card that offers 0% APR for the first year, but only goes up to the standard 10-18% APR after the first year.
5. First thing is to pull your credit report from Experian, Equifax, and Trans Union. This can be done free of charge once a year. You can go here https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp Some utility companies report to the credit bureaus, so you might already have a credit history through them. I would not just jump into credit card dept. Taking out a small loan at your bank, could help. In addition, you could enroll in a pre-paid debit card that reports to the credit bureaus and after a year has the option of turning into a secured credit card. Try www.greendotonline.com or even www.westernunion.com Just remember, that if you go out and apply to a bunch of places in a very short amount of time, all the hits on your credit report will just bring your store down.
6. Get a cellphone, get any credit card without fees, and buy stuff on them and pay it off each month.