Get a credit card, use it a tiny bit each month, and ALWAYS pay it off each month. Just having a card and not using it won't help much, but using it too much (

Get a credit card, use it a tiny bit each month, and ALWAYS pay it off each month. Just having a card and not using it won't help much, but using it too much (i.e. holding a balance) will also not help. Realize though that you will always be dinged for having a 'short' credit history in credit reports. It wasn't until I was almost in my 30's and had a card for over 10 years that I stopped getting dinged for 'short' credit history. Now that I've had a couple car loans, have a good history on a mortgage, and always pay off my revolving credit my credit score is pretty darn good. It will just take a long time to get there unfortunately.