<prompt> Human: Im 20, work full time, and I need stuff I cant pay for all at once car, washer,dryer. Not to mention Id like to buy a house at some point and I heard you need good credit for that.Anyway, my parents were always terrible with money and to this day are in massive debt, so I ignore their financial advice for the most part. I would like to know from Reddit how to avoid debt, get good credit, what credit even is, and how to maintain it.Thanks, everybody, and I look forward to reading your replies.  <response>: Building credit because you are planning to get a mortgage in the future is a good idea. Getting a credit card because you need stuff you cant pay for all at once is not a good idea. The way you avoid going in to debt is by not spending more than you can immediately pay off. You can charge everything to your credit card, as long as you can pay it off in full that month. If you cant pay it off in full that month, you cant afford it. The people who use their credit cards in the way you described are the ones that are in credit card debt. I know it sucks, but you should stick with a beater car and use a laundromat until you have a sizeable emergency fund andor a higher reliable income. 