Why You Need Your Own Credit Card

One of the tenets of good financial well-being is making sure you have your own credit card. Having your own credit card will give you the power to be able to pay for an emergency situation such as a medical bill, car or home repair, or a plane ticket to visit a loved one in a moment’s notice. Over the years I have encountered women who thought they had their own credit card but they were just signers on a credit card in their spouse’s name. When their husbands passed away and they notified the credit card companies they suddenly found themselves having to establish a new credit card and given such a low limit that they couldn’t even purchase what they needed. Despite having large investment accounts and history of being a co-signer, the credit card companies treated them like they were new clients with little credit history. I have also had women clients who simply wanted to sign up for an airlines reward credit card and found out they were just signers on an account with their spouse and not a joint owner of an account and therefore had their application denied.

Please, it is imperative for every woman to open her own credit card in order to build credit history which will lead to higher lines of credit over time before a life event occurs that may make it difficult. Every young woman just out of college needs to open a credit card, purchase small items like groceries or pay utility bills with the credit card and then pay it off every month. This is an excellent way to not only help improve your credit score but will also ensure you have access to money during an emergency.