Scenario: You are 22 years old, unmarried, have no children, and a take-home pay of $2,500 per month. You depended on your parents while attending college. You are engaged to be married in 18 months. You have very little credit history, but want to establish a good credit rating so that you may be able to rent/buy a home and qualify for low-cost loans when you buy a new car or appliance. You also want to be able to qualify for credit cards with good reward programs and low fees and interest rate. Read each statement below and indicate whether it is a good or bad reason for using debt. Statement Bad reason Good reason Debt provides the means to purchase big ticket products sooner rather than later. O You have unused credit available on your credit card. Debt provides financial flexibility and convenience when making payments. The habit of buying on credit can lead to overspending and overindebtedness. Debt provides protection against rip-offs and fraud. When is the use of borrowed money for an education justified? When the cost of your education is less than the estimated additional income that the education is expected to provide When the investment is expected to generate additional income that is less than the cost of the education. When the required repayments can be postponed for many years When the cost of the student loan is less than the interest rate on your credit cards. When the education will maintain your current quality of life Which of the following is true regarding setting personal debt limits? Check all that apply. Your mortgage loan and all credit card charges, especially those paid in full every month, are included in the debt payments-to- disposable income method. For most people, your debt limit should be lower than what creditors are willing to offer. The debt limit according to the continuous-debt method is a four-year payoff period. Under the debt-to-Income method, the recommended maximum debt limit should be 50%. It is recommended the debt limit of a two-income household be based on the individual preference of each wage-earner the wage-earners' combined income Place the following items in order of most to least weight on your FICO SC the higher of the two incomes alphabetical order. Taking on more debt the wage-earners' parents' ability to help them out Amounts owed Payment history Types of credit used Length of credit history Which of the following statements regarding the credit utilization ratio are true? Check all that apply. The purpose of the credit utilization ratio is to identify how heavily a borrower relies on individual cards as well as all your cards. The credit utilization ratio indicates the percentage of your total debt obligation held in the form of credit cards balances. The Fair Isaac Corporation believes that a borrower should not maintain a balance that is greater than 30% of the credit limit of a single credit card. C The credit utilization ratio is used to evaluate a borrower's payment history, and indicates the percentage of credit cards that have been paid late during the last three years. Think about activities that can contribute to creating a strong credit history. Which of the following actions will contribute to this outcome? Will this activity help build a strong credit history? No Yes Apply for a bank credit card and use it responsibly. Close most of your old existing credit card accounts Repay any outstanding loans late or after their due dates. Have your cell phone and utilities billed in your name and pay the bills on time. O Which of the following is an indication that you are using too much credit and may be approaching or in financial distress? Check all that apply. Using cash advances to pay other credit cards Using debt-consolidation loans You pay your bills in full and on time. Your credit card balances are within 30% of the card's credit limit
