what noungning said is right.. limit your credit card.. your first credit card should be like $500 or something.. all credit card start out with 0% apr.. if you pay it all off like if you charge 300, at the end of the month pay off all $300 then your apr will continue to stay at 0%... this is the best way to build your credit. if you like pay min or like 2x the min and on time, it'll still make your rating good but not as good and not as fast plus your apr might jump up to max of 24%.. with credit cards, i never allow any apr. why? why give free money away? and never max out your credit card either, it does more harms then good. the only thing i will pay apr on are cars, houses, and stuff that are 5k and over... paying apr for a 1k purse, i consider that ridiculous..
so if you just want to build your credit.. just get something managable like a $500 limit Visa.. or if possible, ask your parents if they can put your name as secondary when they purchase a new car. my friend did that when he first started out building at 18.
credit cards arent that scary if you know control.. when you are tempted to buy a 1k purse, just think, do i want it that badly to suffer for it later? is it worth it? what if i jack up my rating because of it and end up paying 11%+ when financing a car (ouch)..... good luck..