My son is nearly 18 years old...

Do you have any suggestions for companies that offer compliance shops that he could do or we could do together? I am not interested in tobacco assignments. In the past, I saw many emails looking for compliance shoppers to visit a restaurant that has a day of the week in its name. I have not seen those emails for quite a long time. Thank you.

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Alcohol/restaurant compliance shops are going to require the shopper to be 21 years or older. For an 18 year old, it's mostly going to be just tobacco/e-cig compliance shops (assuming your state has a tobacco legal age of 18 and not 21).

A long time since I had an 18 year old around! Aren't there age restrictions on movie and game purchase shops the young man would be eligible for?

Ath has some very nice shops for 18 year olds.

There's also the banking shops for 18-20 yr olds to sign up for a credit card, but I would do not do too many of those....just one would be best. And, it would not be strange at all to have mom along for the kid's 1st credit card.

And a 1st credit card at 18 that gets used once in a while and ALWAYS paid off in full in a timely fashion will certainly begin building the boy's credit score and financial reputation. He should never get rid of the card (use it once a year just to keep it from lapsing) as part of your credit score comes from the age of the longest line of credit.

If I remember correctly, you are not allowed to bring a guest for the 18-20 year old credit card shop. Wait until it's significantly bonused before doing it. I did the shop for $300.

The Cash Reward card offered at that bank is a decent first cashback card. If your son does the shop, make sure to have him tell the banker to apply the sign-up bonus that is offered online ($200 reward after $500 in spend within the first 3 months). It's technically not offered in-branch but the bankers are able to call in and add the online bonus reward to the account.

Second to none has a lot of shops for video games.

@Flash wrote:

And a 1st credit card at 18 that gets used once in a while and ALWAYS paid off in full in a timely fashion will certainly begin building the boy's credit score and financial reputation. He should never get rid of the card (use it once a year just to keep it from lapsing) as part of your credit score comes from the age of the longest line of credit.

Great advice! My oldest credit card never gets used except for one recurring annual payment (my AAA membership fee, I think). It's an easy way to keep it active.

Shopper in California's Bay Area

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/13/2019 12:28AM by CaliGirl925.

Together, you could do restaurant shops involving one shopper and one guest or one shopper with a guest who generates a separate ticket (to control the reimbursement amount).

Alone, he could complete grocery shops and get stuff for his dorm or apartment. If he has a pet, he could complete a pet shop assignment. He could do the college bookstore phone call shops. I am too old to be aware of other types of campus shops that might be accessed via campus websites with emphasis on student jobs.

Together, you could work as a team on some merchandising projects that permit one merchandiser and one assistant. Alone, he could perform tasks that might interest him.

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. - Lao-Tzu

None of the video games and movie shops are going to work for an 18 year old.

He’s 18 now. He shouldn’t need his mommy on shops. My son is 20. I’ve never been on his shops other than tobacco compliance.

Once he turns 21, he will be able to do alcohol compliance shops.

As for the credit card shop, I just added my son as an authorized user on a card with a huge credit line. He already got his own credit card from a local bank when he turned 18, since he had an account there with a debit card. I guess if he has a job and a credit score, he could try it? It’s a one time deal though.

And maybe some of the Intelli phone shops - less stressful. He can be at home with mom right next to him, pointing out what he needs to ask next

@SoCalMama He should have a decent enough credit history/credit score to be approved for the credit card from that bank. The bank also offers a student version of the cashback card that's easier to get approved for.

@azncollege wrote:

@SoCalMama He should have a decent enough credit history/credit score to be approved for the credit card from that bank. The bank also offers a student version of the cashback card that's easier to get approved for.

My son had no credit history when he turned 18 because you don’t generally get extended credit until you turn 18. He had a banking history with one bank, but absolutely nothing was in his credit report. He worked at a design firm at 15 because he speaks Mandarin. He got a new job at 16 in retail and still works there, but none of that showed up on his credit report. It was as if he didn’t exist.

@SoCalMama wrote:

As for the credit card shop, I just added my son as an authorized user on a card with a huge credit line. He already got his own credit card from a local bank when he turned 18, since he had an account there with a debit card. I guess if he has a job and a credit score, he could try it? It’s a one time deal though.

Perhaps things have changed. When my sons graduated from high school in the mid '90s they were inundated with mail to join the military and mail to get credit cards. They did not need parental co-signor for credit cards and did not need to have employment as they were students. When they arrived on their college campuses for orientation as incoming freshmen, the campus was set up with card tables for students to sign up for credit cards. These were not debit cards and it blew my mind that the banks wanted to contract with minors.

Recently, there was a merchandising project involving a slightly different twist on marketing to students. Instead of pushing credit cards, the in-store display offered pre-paid cards and wording to the effect that using pre-paid cards was related to financial management and financial freedom. (This is a far cry from many lifetimes ago in which one of my little tasks at a student job was to stuff bags with credit and other offers and, later, to fill those bags with expensive books and things which many students paid for with credit cards.) The merchandiser located the unit and merchandised it. There were a few other tasks which together required less than thirty minutes per location.

For the OP's son, there might be other projects involving pre-paidi cards. These tasks take little time on site and require no outlay except for transportation. Routes of these are possible. These little jobs are situated in locations with other job types (he would have to find out how many MSCs would let him work in one store in one session!) which are in many towns and cities that have other shopped places.

Perhaps best of all, these tasks can be performed within generous daily hours and a generous project time frame. Even as a newbie, he could cobble together routes...

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. - Lao-Tzu

My daughter just did the credit card shop right before aging out. She was only offered a secured credit card (which means she had to keep $300 in the bank if she wanted a $300 credit limit.) I was disappointed b/c I was hoping to get her some cash back bonuses.

Proper performance with a secured credit card will get her fairly quickly to the point where she can get a cash back card with a low line of credit. After six months or so of good performance she can either apply for a second cash back card or get a raise in credit on her first unsecured card. Let her know that any month she can not pay off the card by the due date in its entirety, she should talk to you. If the reason for not being able to pay it in full is reasonable, help her if you can but definitely make sure she makes at least the minimum amount due. Have the discussion about the importance of the credit score because it will determine how much she pays for loans, whether she can be hired for some responsible jobs, and whether she can acquire loans for large purchases such as a vehicle or a house.

@SoCalMama wrote:

I just added my son as an authorized user on a card with a huge credit line. He already got his own credit card from a local bank when he turned 18, since he had an account there with a debit card. I guess if he has a job and a credit score, he could try it? It’s a one time deal though.

I put my son and my daughter on my cc with a huge credit line when they were 15 and 17 (one year ago). I also opened checking and savings accounts for my 3 oldest a year ago (ages 13, 15, 17) with their allowance going into their savings to keep their accounts "free." Their accounts are also linked to mine, so I can monitor things.

Now my son has turned 18, gotten a little summer job, and has his paychecks go into his checking account. He was just offered his first cc, as well. Amazingly, with this cc, I saw his credit score and there is nothing there. He has no credit at all built up from the year of being an AU.

When I did make them AUs, I asked at the bank, and was told that being an AU WOULD affect their credit (negatively or positively)….but he still has NO credit...

I did have him use his cc to purchase his work shoes and work gloves. I then took the cc and put it in our safe deposit box with the other cards, lol

I will coach him each month on payments, so he will have a credit score soon

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My son is nearly 18 years old...

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