A brainstorm about secured credit cards
Keep your balance low, and zero it out as often as you can afford to. * Always pay on time. Paying late, whether by a single day or, for some exceptionally strict student credit cards, a single hour, can cost you $35 or more in late fees, plus a higher "default" interest rate. Setting up automatic payments through an electronic checking account can prevent late payments. And if you do make a payment late, call up your credit card issuer and ask whether they will waive the fee and not raise your interest rate.