Life
Happy Vishu to all.
Vishu is the harvest festival in southern India, celebrated in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and southern parts of Karnataka.
After much prodding by friends and cousins, I finally opted for a secured credit card. It should help me build my credit history.
So, why do I need a credit card or credit history, when I did not bother about it for my stay here in US for a little more than a year? I live very well with in my means. Around 30% of my income go into savings. Although, I have not put an effort into asset growth by investing the savings, I consider that I am finacially healthy. I have taken a vehical loan, to buy a Royal Enfield bike when I was back in India, but I was out of it in 11 months. Othere than that, I have not been in debt to this day. I really do not need one.
But, as some have explained it to me, it would help me quite a bit if I were to take a loan here, if I had a good credit score. More over, as Trent says:
Here’s my advice. If you’re in a bad financial situation, get rid of your credit cards. Lock them up somewhere where you can’t get at them and don’t use them for a long while. However, if your finances are under control and you’re in good shape, the convenience, consumer protection, and bonus rewards offered by credit cards make them a worthwhile tool.
Hence, I thought I should try and build my credit history. But to build credit history, I need a credit card. To get a credit card though, I need credit history. To alleviate this Catch 22 situation, there is something called Secured Credit Card.
For a secured credit card, the card holder must deposit an amount, which is usually between 100% and 200% the credit limit desired. So, if I deposit $100, I will get a credit limit of $50 to $100. The monthly payment needs to be done like for a normal credit card. This should put me on the track to get some credit score.
I visited my local Wells Fargo Bank, where I have my checkings and savings account, and applied for the secured credit card.
The whole process have roused my interest. 
Yup. I went to The Rink At The Rockfeller Plaza.
Ice skating looks hard to do, and trust me - it is quite hard if you have not had the experience of slipping on anything that did not give you some friction. I have been sometimes called sure-foot but that is only when I have got some good firm land.
The ice is not my element. As I type this, my hand aches, and is blue from the numerous fall I have had. And everything else aches. But I am glad I tried this out.
I need to find one back at Denver to go ice skating again, and continue what I learnt today.
