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The 5 BEST Credit Cards For Beginners In 2025
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Apr 9, 2025
Original Channel: Graham Stephan Link to Original Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8KqZuOybds Channel Link: https://www.youtube.com/@GrahamStephan This is a re-upload for educational and informational purposes only. Full credit goes to the original Graham Stephan. I am not affiliated with Graham Stephan or his channel. Please always verify information through official sources or the creator’s own platforms. I am not responsible for any decisions made based on this video.
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What's up, Graham? It's guys here
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So here's the deal. Over the last 10 years, I have spent hundreds of hours
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researching how to maximize the value of every dollar that I spend to the point where now
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I could travel pretty much anywhere I want to in the world for free, I could cash back on almost anything that you could imagine
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and in some cases, I'll get paid just to make an account. But what most people don't know
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is that these rewards and perks are available to practically anybody, as long as you know what to look out for
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and how to utilize them effectively. So today, I thought it would be helpful to go over my five best credit cards for beginners could quickly get you started on your journey to
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achieving a perfect credit score, earning signup bonuses, and getting complimentary first-class
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travel anywhere in the world, all for zero dollars out of pocket. So let's talk about the best credit
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card options available on the market, which rewards are worth taking advantage of, and how you would be
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able to get started immediately even if you have no prior credit history whatsoever. All I ask in
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return, if you find this video helpful, just give the video a like and subscribe if you haven't done
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it already. It helps with the channel tremendously. And as a thank you for doing that, here's a picture
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of a turtle. So thank you guys so much. And now let's begin. All right. So in order to work your
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way up to the ultimate credit card rewards tier, you're first going to need a good credit score
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And one of the best ways to do that, if you're brand new, is with what's called the Discover
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It Secured card. This allows beginners or people with limited to no credit history to put down a
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refundable security deposit. And in exchange for doing that, you'll get back a credit line equal
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to that amount. This allows you to effectively build your credit score without first needing a
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credit score in order to get approved. Just think of it kind of like this. With a secured credit
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card, you'd be able to put down a $300 deposit, and in exchange for doing that, you'll get back
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a $300 credit line. However, what makes Discover so much different from all of the other secured
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credit cards out there is that most of the other cards are awful, but Discover is surprisingly
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really good. That's because most secured credit cards are aimed at people who have no idea what
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they're doing or they have no other option to turn to. So they nickel and dime you with high interest
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penalties, and annual fees just because they can. Although Discover takes an entirely different
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approach and allows you to get a secured credit card for free. They also give you what almost
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every other secured credit card does not, and that would be rewards. You'll be able to earn
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2% cash back on gas stations and restaurants up to $1,000 in combined purchases each quarter
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plus a limited 1% cash back on everything else. Not to mention, they'll also match all of your rewards in the first year
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That means if you spend an average of $1,000 a month, you'll get at minimum $240 back for the cost of nothing
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In addition to that, they'll also help you keep track of your progress through free FICO monitoring tools on their platform
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That way, you'll get monthly updates to eventually work your way up to some of the other options that I'm about to mention
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And really from there, all you have to do is pay off your balance in full at the end of every single month
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That way you're not going to have to pay any amount in interest. You'll be getting cash back
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and you'll be able to build your credit score to get free stuff all for the cost of nothing
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Although keep in mind, this is only the very beginning. And once you begin working your way
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up you be able to get a few of these other options as well Like number two the pedal visa card See the thing is as you building up your credit score you generally rewarded for having multiple lines of credit That because each time you pay off a card it counted as a positive trade line on your report And the more positive trade lines you
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have, the higher your score is going to be. That's why somebody with a wallet stuffed full
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of fully paid off credit cards is probably going to have a higher credit score than the other person
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who only has one. So if you're going to go this route, the Pedal Visa card could help you do
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exactly that, also for free. They do this by offering you two options. The first is the Petal
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1 card, which allows their customers to earn up to 2-10% back on select merchants, or the Petal 2
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card, which gives you 1% cash back on eligible transactions, which then gets bumped up to 1.5
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after you make 12 on-time payments. But what makes this one so unique is that, unlike Discover
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which bases your limit on the security deposit, Petal also utilizes your banking information
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which yzes whether or not your spending and savings behavior is enough to give you a line of
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credit. The way I see it is that this is massively helpful for anybody who's always just paid their
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bills on time, but never got around to getting a credit card. And if this is you, you may as well
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use it to your advantage. On top of that, since they utilize your banking information, they also
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double as a personal finance app that can help you calculate your payments, interest if you don't
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pay off your balance in full, your monthly spending, and any other personal finance information to help
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save you money, like canceling unwanted subscriptions that you might have forgotten about
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The other benefit over the Discover It card is that the pedal visa has no fees of any kind
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including no foreign transaction fees. And on the pedal two visa, no late fees, which let's be
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honest, you shouldn't ever pay late anyway. But you know what? It's here. It's also worth noting
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that they report your payment to all three credit bureaus. So every month you pay off your bill on
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time, you're adding another positive trade line to your report. And with patience, you'll slowly
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be able to use this to work your way up to getting free first-class plane tickets, which I'll discuss
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a little later. Because in addition to that, we also got this option. And that would be number
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three, the Wells Fargo Active Cash Card. Now, here's the thing. Make no surprise, I hate Wells
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Fargo. They're one of the few banks that I personally cannot stand working with. Their
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customer service has been nothing but awful, and I've had a lot of bad experiences. But I also have
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to be fair because they do end up doing pretty well in two categories. The first would be that
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they have some of the lowest mortgage rates on the market. And the second, admittedly, they did a
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really good job on this credit card. Now, this definitely is not a credit card that I would get
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if you have no credit history whatsoever. But assuming you have at least 6 to 12 months of
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on-time payments, then this starts to look like a pretty good option. On the most basic level
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this card has absolutely no annual fee, 0% interest for the first 15 months, and the best
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part of all, unlimited 2% cash back on every purchase. So why is this card so much better
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than the rest? Well, typically, the cards that give you unlimited 2% cash back are no frills
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Like, that's pretty much just all they do. And don't get me wrong, the Citi Double Cash card does
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a really good job at that. But Wells Fargo just gives you the creme de la creme of offers
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and that would be a $200 sign-up bonus when you spend $1,000 in the first three months
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Like, I've been saying for years, the lack of a sign-up bonus has been one of the biggest
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deterrents against a lot of these 2 back credit cards But Wells Fargo listened and they did exactly that Now that doesn mean you should go ahead and spend an extra buying Pokemon cards
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to get $200 back, but it does mean that if you were gonna spend $1,000 anyway
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you may as well use this card and get the money back. In addition to that, they'll also give you up to $600
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of cell phone protection against damage or theft when you pay your phone bill with the card
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subject to a $25 deductible. Terms apply. That makes this card perfect for those just starting out
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who already have a little credit history, but who also want to sign a bonus with a card that
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they don't have to worry about keeping track of rotating categories. But hey, if you or your fake
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accounts don't want anything to do with Wells Fargo, I totally understand. And that's why we
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have our fourth option, the American Express Blue Cash Everyday Card. It's a long name. Now here's
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the thing, usually when you think of American Express, you'd imagine the gold or the platinum
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card, which is notorious for charging an extremely high annual fee or requiring a high income in
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order to get approved, but this American Express is a little bit different. To start, they'll charge
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you no annual fee, just like the last one. You'll also get 0% interest for the first 15 months on
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both purchases and balance transfers, and you could get 3% cash back on multiple categories
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from groceries, online retailers, and gas. On top of that, you could also earn 20% back as a
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statement credit up to $150 when you make a checkout with PayPal in the first six months
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and an extra $100 statement credit when you spend $2,000 in the same time frame
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bringing the total bonus to $250. Plus, in typical American Express fashion
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they'll shower you with perks and features for those that know what to look out for
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For example, you could get up to $7 a month off when you spend $14 on the Disney streaming bundle
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$15 a month on a Home Chef cooking option, which I'll admit it's probably just cheaper to buy something at Chipotle instead
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and you'll get damage and theft protection when you rent a car and make a payment with the card
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You'll also be able to sign up with ShopRunner, which gives you complimentary two-day free shipping on a variety of online stores, which I'll admit I've got a lot of value from outside of Amazon
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So from the way I see it, if you're just starting out and have barely any credit history, you're probably not going to get approved
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But if you've been already slowly building up your credit score, then this is a fantastic option to get your foot in the door with one of the best credit card companies out there
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American Express also has some of the best travel opportunities out there
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For example, I was able to go and visit family in Canada for free by transferring the American
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Express gold sign-up bonus to Aeroplan and then booking multiple tickets. I was also able to use my American Express platinum card for free lounge access, free
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food, and additional travel rewards. I'll mention more of this shortly, but all you need to know is that a lot of this free
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travel can start right here with a credit card that costs you absolutely nothing
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Although, like I mentioned earlier, we're not done yet, and if you want to begin working your way up, there are a few other options that you should absolutely consider
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Alright, now coming into number five is one of my personal favorite credit cards for beginners
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and that would be the Chase Freedom Flex card. In my opinion, this is one of the most versatile cards
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in the market because it just so happens to be good at everything. Now of course, full disclosure here
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but you will need some credit history in order to be approved, so if you have absolutely nothing
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I would just wait and come back to this one but assuming you eligible this one has a lot of perks For example to start you be able to get a sign bonus when you spend in the first three months similar to the other ones we mentioned but you also be able to earn 5 cash back on
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grocery store purchases, up to $600 a year, and you'll be able to earn 5% back on rotating
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categories like gas stations and select online merchants. You could also get 5% back on travel
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purchase through their Chase Ultimate Rewards, 3% back on restaurants and eligible delivery
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services, 3% at drugstores, and 1% back on everything else, making this card a cash cow
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when used correctly, all for the price of no annual fee and 0% interest in the first 15 months
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Plus, most people have no idea this also includes cell phone protection up to $1,000, so there's a
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lot of amazing benefits here that cost you nothing. In a way, this card is kind of like the jack of
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all trades, and as you bolster up your credit history, this will help you with the final
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category, which is known as the Chase Trifecta. See, just like the Power Rangers could team up to
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create a group that's collectively more powerful than the sum of each, Chase created a series of
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three cards that could be utilized to increase the earnings of everything. And when you want free
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travel, this is pretty much as good as it gets. To start, it all begins with the Chase Freedom
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Flex, which offers 5% cash back on revolving categories up to $1,500. These points all
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accumulate in the Chase Portal from where you could eventually apply for the Chase Freedom
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unlimited. This is another completely free card that's almost identical to the Flex, except you'll
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be able to get 5% unlimited cash back through purchases made on the rewards portal, and you'll
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get 1.5% cash back on all other purchases. This gives you a higher redemption rate than just using
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the Flex card alone, and when you combine that with the Chase Sapphire Reserve or Preferred
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you'll be able to unlock the ultimate benefit of way more money back. Some people may want to swap
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one of the first two cards to the Chase Inc., and there's a bit of a debate about whether or not it's
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actually worth it to juggle three cards to maximize the rewards. But if you're committed
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to getting free stuff and you want to do it for as cheap as possible, this is one of the most
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effective ways out there. For example, the Points Guy offers a fantastic resource that I'll link to
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down below in the description that shows you exactly how to maximize every single point. So
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I'll link to everything in the description if you want to learn more. So overall, if you want to get
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started on your journey towards maximizing your credit score, getting paid for what you would
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already spend anyway and being able to travel anywhere in the world for free, it all starts at
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building up the foundation from which you'll eventually be able to get the top tier cards
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Not to mention the basics of this are extremely simple. You never need to spend more money than
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you were going to spend anyway. You always pay off your bill in full at the time it's due and
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don't be dumb. That's it. Within a few years, you'll have a perfect credit score, get approved
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for any credit card you would want and maximize your spending to levels you never thought were
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imaginable, all for the cost of subscribing if you haven't done that already. So with that said
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you guys, thank you so much for watching. As always, feel free to add me on Instagram. And
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while we're talking about free stuff, don't forget that you can get a free stock with their sponsor
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public.com, down below in the description with the code GRAM. That stock is going to be worth
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anywhere from $3 up to $1,000 when you make a deposit. So enjoy. Let me know what stock you get
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Thank you so much, and until next time
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