by KYW's Salil Gutt
Having a good credit report and a high credit score is critical.
Prospective landlords, lenders, bankers, even employers look at this data to determine if the person is someone they want to do business with or hire. A bad record makes yourfinancia1 1ife expensive.
Parents have a particularly vested interest in seeing their kids score high in this department. College kids have credit cards thrown at them right at freshman orientation. Some of the cards come from the school itself which is paid money to do the pitch.
Due to financial inexperience many college kids amass a ton of debt that eventually severely damages their credit score.
There are two different ways to help your children which will actually improve the credit score. The first is to get a secured credit card for the child. A secured card comes with a preassigned credit limit, usually $300 to $500, which is backed by an identical deposit at the bank. The second is to add your child's name to your credit card. Very soon your card's history is added to his or her name.
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