While the word “deadbeat” has all the negative connotations of a bum, you may be surprised to learn that the credit card industry sometimes uses the term differently.

Whether you’re a new immigrant, in college, or have limited credit history for any reason, you can gradually build your credit from scratch.

Take it from someone who has built his credit score to the mid-700s in just six months. (Even though I have a good credit history in Malaysia, this doesn’t get transferred to the US, unfortunately.)

Here’s how you can start to build your credit history: