Building a Good Credit Score from Scratch

Home Blog Building a Good Credit Score from Scratch

Posted On: August 2, 2021 by Peoples Bank of Kankakee County in: Budget Personal Finances Saving

The elusive credit score... you know it’s important, but what actually is it and how does it affect you? We’re here to explain how you can build a good credit score from scratch!

Become an Authorized User

Before you open your own credit card, becoming an authorized user on a family member’s card is a great place to start! As an authorized user, your name is attached to their credit card and their payment history is added to your credit files. Be sure to choose someone who has a good track record of paying their bills on time, so their on-time payments help improve your score. You don’t need to use or even have the credit card!

Ask the primary cardholder to find out whether the card issuer reports authorized user activity to the credit bureaus. That activity generally is reported, but you’ll want to make sure — otherwise, your credit-building efforts may be wasted.

You should come to an agreement on whether and how you’ll use the card before you’re added as an authorized user. If you would like to use their credit card, we recommend you’re prepared to help pay off what you charge to the card. It’s the kind thing to do for your family members and it also teaches you financial responsibility!

Start with a Secured Credit Card

If you’re building your credit score from scratch, you’ll likely need to start with a secured credit card. A secured card is backed by a cash deposit you make upfront; the deposit amount is usually the same as your credit limit. Secured credit cards aren’t meant to be used forever. The purpose of a secured card is to build your credit enough to qualify for an unsecured card — a card without a deposit and with better benefits. Choose a secured card with a low annual fee and make sure it reports payment data to all three credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.

Keep Your Credit Cards Open - Unless your annual fees are through the roof, it’s a good idea to keep your credit card open. Credit bureaus will count a closed credit card against you, so you can pay off the card and leave it open, but don’t close it.
Limit Credit Card Applications - Opening multiple credits cards in a short time period will also be flagged by the major credit bureaus. While not always the case, they see this as a sign that someone is unable to maintain an income to keep up with expenses and pay off debt, so your credit score will go down. It’s recommended to wait at least six months in between credit card applications.
Set Up Automatic Payments - Paying your loans and credit cards regularly and on time is one of the best ways to build a positive credit. Making these timely payments shows the credit bureaus that you can maintain enough income to pay off debts and are capable of paying them on time which improves your score.

Take Out a Personal Loan

Ask us about personal loans! Typically, the money you borrow is held by the lender in an account and not released to you until the loan is repaid. It’s a forced savings program of sorts, and your payments are reported to credit bureaus. Talk to our lenders today about a personal loan.

An overdraft occurs when you do not have enough money in your account to cover a transaction, but we pay it anyway. We can cover your overdrafts in two different ways:

We have standard overdraft practices that are available after your account has been open for 30 days and as long as you maintain your account in good standing.
We also offer an overdraft protection plan, Overdraft Protection Sweep, a link to a savings account. It may be less expensive than our standard overdraft practices. To learn more, ask us about this plan.

This notice explains our standard overdraft practices.

What are the standard overdraft practices that come with my account?

After your account has been open for 30 days and as long as you maintain your account in good standing, we do authorize and pay overdrafts for the following types of transactions:

Checks and other transactions made using your checking account number
Automatic bill payments

We do not authorize and pay overdrafts for the following types of transactions unless you ask us to (see below):

ATM transactions
Everyday debit card transactions

We pay overdrafts at our discretion, which means we do not guarantee that we will always authorize and pay any type of transaction.

If we do not authorize and pay an overdraft, your transaction will be declined.

What fees will I be charged if Peoples Bank of Kankakee County pays my overdraft?

Under our standard overdraft practices:

We will charge you a fee of up to $30 each time we pay an overdraft.
The maximum daily overdraft fee per presentment or item paid using the Overdraft Reserve Program is $150.00 per day.
No per item handling fee will be charged on de minimis overdrafts. De minimis overdraft for this policy means transactions that overdraw your account by $30 or less.
There is an overdraft fee of $5 per day that will be charged beginning the 4th consecutive business day your account is overdrawn.

Nonsufficient funds (NSF) fees - if an item drafted by you (such as a check) or a transaction you set up (such as a preauthorized transfer) is presented for payment in an amount that is more than the amount of money in your account and we decide not to pay the item or transaction, you agree that we can charge you an NSF fee for returning the payment. Be aware that such an item or payment may be presented multiple times by the merchant or other payee until it is paid, and that we do not monitor or control the number of times a transaction is presented for payment. You agree that we may charge you an NSF fee each time a payment is presented if the amount of money in your account is not sufficient to cover the payment, regardless of the number of times the payment is presented.

PAYMENT ORDER OF ITEMS - The law permits us to pay items drawn on your account in any order (for purposes of this section "items" means checks, orders and electronic transactions). To assist you in handling your account with us, we are providing you with the following information regarding how we process those items. When processing checks and orders drawn on your account our policy is to pay lower numbered checks and orders in numerical sequence, but electronic transactions are paid first in the order received. The order in which items are paid is important if there is not enough money in your account to pay all of the items that are presented. There is no policy that is favorable in every instance. If the smallest items are paid first, you may have fewer NSF or overdraft fees, but the largest, and perhaps more important items (such as rent or mortgage payments) might not be paid. However, if the largest items are paid first, your most important items might be paid but it may increase the overdraft or NSF fees if funds are not available to pay all of the items. We think our policy attains a reasonable balance between minimizing additional costs to you and paying your more important items. We encourage you to make careful records and practice good account management. This will help you to avoid creating items without sufficient funds and incurring the resulting fees.

What if I want Peoples Bank of Kankakee County to authorize and pay overdrafts on my ATM and everyday debit card transactions?

If you also want us to authorize and pay overdrafts on ATM and everyday debit card transactions after your account has been open for 30 days, you may opt in.

You have an ongoing right to change this consent at any time. If your overdraft privilege has been revoked for any reason, the opt-in or opt-out selection may not apply. Please contact your nearest office for more information.

Alternate ways to Opt In/Out or make changes:

By Phone. Our Customer Care Representatives can be reached at 815-936-7600.
By Mail. Peoples Bank of Kankakee County, 333 E. Court Street, Kankakee, IL 60901
In Person. Please visit your local office and ask a representative to help you decide which plan is best for you.