Well, my credit began in November 1991 as a college freshman with my very first credit card issued by Sovran Bank (and after it being transferred and sold no less than five times since then and now under Citi Cards) which I still have today at a reduced rate of 12%--I plan to ask for another rate reduction in about a year from now.
During my college years I acquired four more credit cards (Citibank, Capital One, The GM Card, and the GE Card) and two department store cards--Marshall Field's, and MayCompany/Kaufmann's, and believe it or not, I did VERY well handling them all, sometimes amassing a little too much debt at times, but always made a payment and/or paid off and closed the account.
The dept. store cards I used rarely (MF I last used in '96 and made a very small purchase, and Kaufmann's was never used even once). and two of the other cards were paid off and closed out by me in 1996.
The debt problems began June 22, 1996 when I stupidly used my GM Card to make a cash advance to purchase a junky 1985 Honda Civic from a private owner ($1,200). I later traded it in for another Civic three weeks later. Seven months after that I HAD to buy an even newer Civic and put the $800 down payment on the GM Card. I also had began to max out my GE card (which thankfully only had a $300 limit compared to the $7,000 limit on the GM Card).
Oh, and I eloped with someone in August '97 so we purchased our rings on an Andrew's Jewelers card ($2,000). By the spring of 1998 I had maxed out all my cards, the Civic was repoed, the rings were returned in exchange for the debt being cancelled, and I filed for bankruptcy amassing $37,850 in debt. Oh, and I amassed $800 in cell phone bills (remember this was '97 and roaming charges for an out-of-town traveler like me were the norm).
Why did I do all this? Because I wanted to live the yuppie lifestyle SO badly. I had a job that gave me that persona. I drank lattes, drove a late model Honda, had a cell phone and a laptop, wore suits and ties everywhere, and I felt compelled to keep that yuppie image any way possible.
The bankruptcy alleviated all but student loan debt (of course). For about a year and a half I was a cash-only person. I got my updated original credit card in the mail in Nov. '99 (I had paid off and forgotten about that card YEARS ago, having only used it once or twice).
I financed two cars at a buy-here, pay-here dealership and paid them off promptly and that helped my credit some. I got a house financed two years after the bankruptcy which helped my credit some more. But I was unemployed for 5 months in 2001 and I ran out of $$ and I was reported 30 days late on my credit for two months in '01. I did begin a job at about that time and worked a payment plan w/the mortgagor to pay the back mortgage due, which I did promptly.
My credit card had almost reached its limit in the spring of 2003 ($2,100) when I got my tax refund ($3,000) and I paid off the balance.
Also, b/t 1998 and 2001, I paid off two student loans
Anyhow, to make a long story short, despite my shaky credit, I managed to refinance my house at a 5% rate, purchase a '98 Civic at a 6% rate, consolidate all my student loans at a 4% rate, get the late mortgage payments off my credit report and incorrect late student loan payments off my credit report.
My credit is now at its BEST standing in 6 years (PRAISE GOD!!!) The negative credit items will be removed b/t December and March of 2005 b/c of the 7 year limit.
Oh, and my credit card only has a balance of $80 as of now.
Moral to this post: When it comes to credit card purchases, know when to say when.