Building Credit in a Mustachian Way?

[.22guy]

Probably a silly question for this site, but I'm working on rebuilding my credit.  I don't buy things on credit, and haven't had a car payment (for myself, had a few doozie car payments with the high-maintenance ex-wife).

But eventually, I'd like to purchase a house.  Currently, I have a couple credit cards, putting a few monthly expenses on them and paying them off each month.  Should I have more than two?  Also, I have a student loan that I pay each month through auto-pay and included in that payment is just a little more than the minimum.

Oh, I should probably mention it will have been 3 years since the bankruptcy closed in April 2014.  (easy on the BK facepunches, it was a colossal mistake in doing that and getting to the point it was even an option.  As I mentioned earlier, a very high-maintenance wife who is no longer in the picture, so that kind of debt/crap won't be happening again. 

Any advice or pointers is appreciated.  I have googled this, but I'm hoping to get better and more specific advice from the fine people on this site.  Thanks!

[MgoSam]

First off, welcome to the site. I don't know what others will say or think, but I suspect that all will be happy that someone is looking towards moving in the better direction.

I would say that the first step towards building credit is showing that your signature is worthwhile. That will take time, far too long you may think, but it will take a long time.

The thing I want to ask is why do you want to build credit? When someone wants to build credit, it reminds me of a story I heard of a gambler that fled after owing a lot of money, when he paid it off, he asked his casino host "Can I get a bigger credit limit?"

I think credit can be used in a good way, but most often it is not.

When building credit, my concern is that you will use it to justify a loan that you cannot afford to take.

[.22guy]

I've always been a frugal person, and as I said, my ex spent us into the ground.  I should have put my foot down, but she was raised in an upper-middle family, bordering on wealthy.  I was trying to hold my family together, for my son's sakes. 

The one and only reason I want to rebuild my credit is for an eventual home loan.

[Rebecca Stapler]

I think you're doing what you have to do: Use your cc and pay it off on time, in full, every month. When you do apply for a mortgage, it's important not to have multiple lines of credit open at once, so having more than a few cc's will work against you. For your credit rating, it's about promptness and how long you've had the card. So, even if you stop spending on one or both cards, keep them open -- unless they're charging an annual fee. In which case, close the one with a fee, open a free one, and keep it open.

The other thing that keeps your credibility high with banks is to live in the same place for 2 years + and having a steady job. I'm not sure if that factors into your actual credit rating, but it is definitely a factor in the underwriting decision.

And it goes without saying to continue paying your SL in full and on time. That will help too.