There are several common routes for establishing new credit:

• Have a family member allow you to be an authorized user of his or her credit card - doing so will place an entry in your credit report. This will even work for minors. This is a good choice only if the card in question has a clean payment history and the family member can be trusted to continue reliably managing it.

• Open checking and savings accounts - lenders see these accounts as signs of financial stability. However, checking and savings accounts do not report to reporting agencies, as they are not an extension of credit. That said, holding accounts in good standing will help obtain credit from lenders even if it does not directly impact your credit score.

• Apply for a store credit card - such cards are usually easy to obtain.

• Get installment credit - Consider taking out a small loan from your Credit Union and paying the money back over time. The loan, when reported to the credit bureaus, helps build your credit history. The best credit scores are obtained through the use of installment credit (auto loans, personal loans and mortgages) in addition to revolving credit (credit cards and lines of credit).

• Apply for A Senate Visa Classic - the ultimate first card because of its simplicity, flexibility, and worldwide recognition. Whether you're a student, a newlywed, or someone trying to establish credit, the convenience of owning a Senate Visa card is perfect for building good credit.

• Apply for department store and gasoline cards.

Once you've got credit, use it right.

• Charge small amounts on each card -- but never more than you can pay off each month. You need to use credit regularly to establish your credit history, but there's usually no advantage to paying interest on those charges.

• Once you've been approved for one card or loan, don't rush out and apply for several more. Applying for too much credit will hurt, rather than help, your score. Most people need only one or two bank cards, a gasoline card and a department store card, acquired over a year or more, to start a solid credit history.

• Pay your bills on time, all the time. This includes household bills such as utilities and telephone as well as your credit card bills and loans. Late payments on any of these accounts can wind up in your credit report, and can really hurt your credit score, the three-digit number widely used by lenders to evaluate your creditworthiness.

• Don't max out your credit cards. In fact, don't even come close. Try to avoid using more than 30% or so of the credit you have available to you -- even less, if you can. Your credit score measures the difference between the credit available to you and what you're actually using. The smaller that gap, the more it hurts your score. Lenders will worry that you're becoming overextended and won't be able to pay your bills if you charge too much.