Building positive credit is important upon arriving in the U.S. For those of you who have never dealt with credit before, think of credit as a rating for a lender’s confidence level in trusting someone with money based on their history of paying back other loans and bills. 

This could be in relation to car loans, paying rent, mortgage/house loans, buying a phone, a TV, credit cards, utility bills, and much more! Because you haven’t paid any bills in the U.S., your credit score is zero. The more you pay your new bills on time, the better your credit score will become and the more the business world can trust you are an individual who pays back what you owe, on time. The higher your credit score, the more likely other businesses will trust loaning money to you in the future. 

There are many resources available regarding credit, credit scores, and building your credit (some are shared below), but here are some high-level principles to keep in mind:

• Only borrow what you can afford: If you are not able to make regular payments towards a debt or loan, do not take it on! One thing that will really hurt a credit score quickly is not being able to make regular payments towards a loan or debt. If you take on any debt, make sure payments will be able to fit within your regular budget.
• Make your payments on time: One of the easiest ways to build good credit is to simply make payments on time, whether it’s rent, utilities, internet bill, cell phone bill, or car payments. If a bill or expense is paid on a regular cycle - pay it on time! 
• Pay off your debts: For those who do have debt or outstanding loans, work to pay it off as quickly as possible. Even better than making payments on time, paying off debt will build a positive credit score! 

Please do not be afraid to go to the bank with which you opened an account on deployment and ask them for help in understanding or building credit. Your bank is a great resource and it’s part of their job to help people manage money wisely and as positively as possible. Every bank has financial experts who can help you understand credit better. 

In addition, here are some great online resources:

• The BalanceLinks to an external site.
• ExperianLinks to an external site.
• Wallet HubLinks to an external site.
• A new app called: SelfLinks to an external site.

Again, think about it from a company or lenders perspective- who would you rather loan money to: someone who makes payments on time and ends up paying off the entirety of their loan, or someone who constantly makes late payments and leaves uncertainty about ever paying the full loan amount? 

Companies and organizations are using credit scores as a way of rating people’s ability to pay them back. So, building good credit starts the minute you arrive and begin paying rent, utilities, and more! Take advantage of this opportunity to become trusted financially.