All lines of credit fall into one of two categories – an installment loan or revolving credit. Neither one of them is “better” than the other. In fact, it’s actually great for your credit score to have a few lines of credit within both categories.

A “credit limit” is the maximum amount that your credit card company will allow you to put on your credit card at one time. The difference between this and your outstanding balance is called your available credit.

When you lease a car, you are essentially renting it from the dealer for a set amount of time, with an option to purchase the car at the end of your agreement.

To put it simply, a charge-off is a debt that a creditor gives up trying to collect after you’ve missed payments for several months. These can be any balance from a mortgage, credit card, doctor payments, and any other debt that you have.

Your credit limit is the available spending power that you have on a given credit account. Think of it as an “allowance” that your bank gives you to spend on the card.

Credit can be a very fragile thing and can be affected differently depending on who looks at it and why. When someone looks at your credit, it is referred to as a credit “inquiry”, “check”, or “pull”.

You’re a teenager, staring down the barrel of adulthood. Maybe you’re excited, or scared, or you feel unprepared, or maybe a combination of all three.

One of the primary pieces of advice that you will see when researching any sort of financing or credit building is to check your credit score and reports. At Teen Finance Tips, we highly recommend this as well.

You’re turning 18. Surely you’re feeling all of the pressure of “adulting” and it can be intimidating. For years now you’ve been told to save and prepare for the future.