Xicree said:
Credit cards are good... so long as you adhere to 2 VERY VERY VERY Vital rules.
1. Never spend more than you have. (This is a vital trap that credit cards present to those who are unused to them. They aren't free money and treating them that way is the easiest way into dept)
2. PAY IT BACK IMMEDIATELY THE FIRST CHANCE YOU GET. (NEVER wait. Credit cards are a good way of using your cash without carrying it around but you NEED to always be dilligent with how you use it. Not excuses, if you've spent money with your card you make sure that money goes back on.)
If you follow both these rules then there's no point using a credit card for daily stuff.
if you don't want to spend more than you have, then spend your own money instead of borrowing, if you want to pay it back immediately, that you might as well just pay with your own money instead of borrowing.
that said, Credit is good for emergencies, have one, keep it around for when you are broke and desperately need to pay for something that you can't afford until your next wage comes in food, rent, fixing the broken boiler, or medical bills,
(you-poor-pitiable third-world-no-healthcare-american's) for everything else, use Debt.
that said, keep in mind that i'm a 21 year old man(boy!) with a debt card and no credit, who still lives with his mother.
I barely know more about this than you do, but I know that the whole "everyone owns a credit card, its completely normal" is a trick.
The banks automate everything so you don't realise how easy it is to spend more than you have.
the moment you start borrowing money, they have their hooks in you, its fine for a while, but intrest piles up until you miss a payment and you get a charge for not having enough money, if you can't make the normal payment, then making a normal payment AND a fine is impossible, then all of your "disposable income" ends up going into paying interest and keeping debtors off your back.
basically, get both credit and debit, then use Debt (your own money stored electronically) to buy everything when you can.
If your washing machine explodes or something, and you need a new one ASAP, then credit, but make a note and pay it back as soon as you can. cut your spending if you have to, stop using your "disposable income" for anything until you have paid off your credit purchase. then you can go back to spending your extra income however you like.
If you catch yourself using your credit card more than once or twice a week, make a note of it and cut down on your spending. The long and the short of it is that you are now spending more money than you make.
obviously you need to stop.
Keep in mind that every time you use your credit card, you are taking out a very minor loan from the bank.
do everything in your power to make sure you
never owe anyone anything.
all loans/credit charges/debts are to be paid off the very second your wage comes in.
They pile up faster than you would
ever believe possible.
Very clever people with decrees in economics specifically designed it to work that way, after all.
edit: yeah, this is coming from an english man. so... things might me slightly different.
as for advice for setting up your first bank account...
is there any older member of family who could go in with you?
it might feel embarrassing having your mom go in with you, but its not uncommon enough for the bankers to laugh at you behind your back.
It's just... if you go in with no idea what you are doing, and looking overwhelmed, then you might get taken for a ride.
Try and keep in mind that no matter how friendly these bankers act/look, it
is their job to make money from you.
I know I sound a little paranoid, but there a reason the TV is full of adverts telling you how bankers have been fucking people over with PPI for years.
Granted, the lawyers offering to "help" with that are
also looking to take us all for a ride, but hey, everybody knows not to trust a lawyer, right?
Just having someone who LOOKS like he knows what he's doing would be a huge help.
obviously a family member is better than a friend for this, but if needs must...