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Letters: Opting out of solicitations, credit cards for teens
Listen to advice on where to find accredited credit counselors, where to go to opt out of getting credit card solicitations, and when to introduce your kids to credit.
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Food for thought: Your letters on the dangers of genetically modified foods (listeners pointed out that testing on GMOs is still happening), whether to get tattoos, and advice on where to find accredited credit counselors. Hint: Here's where you should go.
"Go with the accredited ones. Don't pay money upfront," advises David Lazarus, consumer columnist at the L.A. Times.
David also has advice on how to avoid the delude of credit card applications that anyone with a decent credit score seems to get. He says the best way is to go to OptOutPreescreen.com, a one-stop shopping service offered by all the credit agencies. There are options at the website for a five-year opt out and a permanent opt out from receiving any credit card solicitations. You will have to give your Social Security number to do this -- which David advises because it's worth it.
And here's a link to the fee-only financial planning association recommended by Jill Schlesinger from CBS/MoneyWatch: http://www.napfa.org/
Click on the audio player for more advice, including when you should introduce your kid to the world of credit.
For the credit and teenagers, David mentioned that parents could get a joint credit card where the parents are a co-signer, and then suggested that if the teen gets in trouble, the parents should not bail them out. Isn't that both morally questionable, since you co-signed and agreed to the lender to handle any of these debts, and a huge risk to your own credit report, since you as a parent are missing these payments they'd also go on your own credit report?
If you want to improve a teenagers credit, the best options seem to be a secured or pre-paid card that reports to the credit agencies or making the teen an authorized user on your credit card but not actually giving them card they could charge against. Personally, I don't see the rush, college seems more than early enough to start dealing with credit.
