Hi, from Gary again as I write about an often over-looked foreign bride adjustment topic.

And, how is your credit rating? It doesn’t matter because it’s a rhetorical question. Whether it’s great or not, your Russian bride will initially have a zero credit rating and no credit. As far as credit rating agencies are concerned, she’s a non-person. She’ll have no social security number, and no employment, bank, or payment history. None of this is a problem if you are super wealthy and have made adequate arrangements for her to be taken care of in the event of (heaven forbid) a divorce, or worse, you choke to death on a peanut butter sandwich or lose an argument with a Mac truck. But if you’ re not super wealthy with such arrangements having been made, here’s the deal.

Part of helping her adjust to life in America is for you to assume and faithfully fulfill the obligation of seeing to it that she can function here financially. The first thing to do is to get her a social security number. That’s a straight forward thing to do once her green card processing is underway.

Then, get her a credit card. Oh, I make it sound so simple, yes? Well it is simple, as least as far as the mechanics of it are involved. But here’s the tricky part. Credit cards are not unheard of in Russia. But their use in Russia to extend one’s lifestyle beyond the limits of one’s weekly wage is miniscule compared to what we are used to in America. Russia still has a very cash based economy. And this is even more true when it comes to life in Ukraine. Now perhaps your lady is a sophisticated professional from Moscow and knows all about credit cards, maybe even has a few. But I’ll guarantee that the degree to which credit is a part of American life will astound her. So the tricky thing is to educate your wife about what credit is, how it works, and how to use it - - that it’s the magic lotion that facilitates the lifestyle possible for us - - that it’s a gift as well as a double-edged sword.

Some of this learning will not be comfortable to her. For example the idea of buying a house with a tiny amount of the full purchase price and then having to owe and pay for that huge debt for 30 long years will frighten her. And imagine how she’ll feel when, after that house has been lived in for a while, its’ value increases and you can borrow some of that increased value so you can buy more stuff or pay off other money you borrowed. All of this is very mysterious and voodoo-like. So you’ll need to teach her about this and get her to be responsibly comfortable with the idea, facts, and use of credit.

The best way to start the education as well as to establish her as a “good credit-worthy consumer” to the “powers-that-be” is to get her a credit card as soon as you can after she has an SSN. Initially she may only be approved for a few hundred dollars or even a thousand or two. That’s o.k.. Once she gets a card, use it. When you go to dinner, pay with her card instead of yours. Then at the end of the month, make payments to her card so she can see how the statements and payment process works. You might even consider getting her a checking account in her name to manage her card. You can fund it with a couple hundred bucks and then teach her to keep a checkbook. Even hook a small savings account, again with a couple hundred bucks, to her checking account. That way you can teach her how to transfer from savings to checking online so she learns to experience and maximize her money working for her. This will only amount to pennies earned to begin with but it’s the idea that counts (the rich get richer by having their money work for them instead of the other way around). And by the way, this strategy of her having a checking and savings account will practically guarantee credit card approval in spite of her having no prior credit history.

And when she uses her card, for example at a restaurant, teach her the protocol of paying the bill. You know, the waiter brings the bill first, then leaves, then returns for her card, blah, blah, blah. Trust me. For a newbie, this process is at first confusing. And teach her to make sure it’s her card that gets returned to her, not somebody else’s (that’s one way cards get stolen and stolen cards get recycled). And also to write the amount paid on her receipt and pocket the receipt so that she can verify charges when she gets her monthly statement. And what to do if her card is lost or stolen. And how to resolve an error on her statement, And, and, and.

After she’s had her card for awhile and made appropriate payments on time, the card company will increase her credit line. Great. After that happens, get her one more card. Then you can teach her about balance transfer stuff and how to read the fine print on credit card special rate deals, etc..

Eventually you can work up to premium cards with high limits and cash-back or mileage rewards. But don’t overdo it (multiple cards is good, too many is a no-no) and always stick with quality name card issuers.

I’m starting to get carried away here. So I’ll stop even though there are so many more things involved in this topic. But I hope I’ve provided some clues to help you in a difficult but vital area. The most important thing to remember about all of this is that it’s your responsibility to teach her this stuff and get her on the road to establishing a credit rating, hopefully at 750+.

Wow, my last few posts have been intense, at least for me. It’s time to pick something more fun to write about. I promise I will. Until then, wishing you all the best,

Gary.

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