bank charge off and more questions

[Alfer]

Hello,

I'm 24, and until recently had no credit history. I make about 40K a year.

I finally got my first credit card (through capitol one) though a problem came up. I was added to my mother's checking account (bank of america) a year or two ago while living out of state in case I ever needed to exchange money with her, I could do so without mailing a check.

She had a balance of like $148 charged off today, and I'm told this may show up on my credit report.

I'm having a panic attack, my credit is incredibly important. I intend to pay the $148, will that help my credit at all? How much will this affect it?

Question 2: I'm trying to look good with capitolone. Should I carry a balance, or just pay it down each month? Which will increase my limit faster and fico score? I've just been paying it down. I only have a $300 limit. How long should I wait in months before applying for another CC? I was thinking two CCs and a gas card all kept in good order would help my credit establish nicely.

Thanks in advance for any/all comments.

[markio26]

i would go for a discover card... one credit card is all you need.. i would have a visa debit card from my local b&m dummie bank... and pay cash for everything... i recommend vanguard.. but, since you are just starting out.. i would google funds with the initial purchase of $250 and shoot for that... if you can do an ira annuallly that would help... keep
reading the material on this forum and follow jeffreys advice and challenges... you are on your way to gaining control of the situation..
i would think your mom's credit charge off would show up on your cc report if you are a coowner of the account........

[Alfer]

I think I was the coowner.. I hope it is not significant.

I will look at discover, thanks.

right now I am not doing a lot of savings. I have one savings account that I put $25 a month into automatically for overdraft/anything small that could come up. I pretend this savings account doesnt exist so its there if i need it.. it grows at a small rate being a chase account.

I have a second account with emmigrant that is at 4.5% savings, which I am only putting small money into for an initial investment into a MF once I have enough.

I am however contributing 5% to my 401k each paycheck and more on bonus checks. The reason I'm doing this is my fund (MRSAX) has done well. It was at 18.25 a unit in Feb and is headed towards 21.00 in May. I should probably roll off the 401k contributions until I have my goal of two months worth of living expenses put into a 4.5% savings account, though this fund is growing nicely and I want to max my contributions this year.

Being young and single, I was thinking about moving into a cheaper apartment and really saving heavily for the next few years to get a good start to my financial life. My car is paid off.

Thanks for the reply!