'ya see that article, that is the very thing... I'm not the type of person that reads my phone bill and needs to understand what every fee is on there, and how it got there.. I know some.. they are nuts btw... so what's it say in that article? "You better read the fine print in every statement" more or less because they are coming after you if you are a really conscientious person... that is WAY TOO SHITTY AND COMPLICATED for my style, just way over the line to be watching some cheesy lender that closely... they can change the deal at will, you can take it or leave it, and you need credit to function!! Where is the opt out form for this s$%t? The culture knows you by your credit score and essentially they can extort money out of you in a zillion little ways... I'm just not going there, ever...
I fucked over my credit back in college (about 10yrs ago now) and have not had any problems since. I have slowly repaid every creditor who I owe (just found out about one I missed during the process last year and paid it off). Yes, it took me 9 years to pay them off and not one of them was done by making "monthly payments". Those accounts (no less than 10 different accounts) have been in default status the entire time until I saved enough money to pay them off in full. I have not owned or used a credit card for the past 10 years. I can rent a car, pay for a hotel, and everything else I've seen mentioned on this thread. I own my car (in which I got a loan for and is now paid off). I am soon to purchase a house. Until last year, I had more in college loan debt than I make annually. I have never once personally checked my credit score and have hever had a need so I don't know what it is. So for me personally, "Does my credit score matter?" No, but it never did. As long as you live within your means, you don't need credit in the US. Have I had to pass up some opprotunities that I would have liked to take advantage of? Sure. But thats called responsibility.
Good post. I suspect the average person is more like you and have had some bumps along the way. It is possible to reestablish credit afterwards. Responsible individuals can make it just fine without the 800 FICO.
Even with a good score you won't get enough credit for years to come. Even if you get the credit, should you? Say you get a loan for 7%, yet the economy grows only 3% per year. You may be part of the lucky ones in the population. But. for most people, getting loans is a bad idea.
Good for you. You handled it with integrity. That said, the credit score matters in ways you may not see. Insurance for example. Employment. But either way, living within your means is one aspect. You can do that with a good credit score, and with credit cards. On the other hand, there are some things that have nothing to do with "living within your means". For example, I have bought real estate throughout my adult life, income properties. In the beginning I could not have bought without mortgages. The income from the property well protected the mortgage payment plus repairs. And so over time, I eventually paid the property off. I repeated this many times. Trust me though, I could not have done that without good credit. In those days they didn't have credit scores...they actually looked at your credit and made a decision. If you had no credit to judge, then you didn't get credit. If you use credit responsibly, it can be a tool. It does not have to be something where you get screwed by the bank, you get in over your head, etc etc. But again, congratulations about repaying your creditors. I respect that. OldTrader
Agree. The past few years it has been "credit for everyone" no matter if you were responsible or even employed. Go figure. It didn't cost the banks anything to create the money so what the fuck, they might as well lend to any Tom, Dick, or Harry that walked in the door. Ain't gonna happen no more. People are going to go back to living within their means and banks are going to be picky about who they lend to. I walked into a bank at the age of 21 a few decades ago to borrow 2k and the bank turned me down flat - bastards! I can get that as a cash advance on a CC today. My, how times have changed. The only downside to not having a good credit score nowadays is approximately 50% of employers check. You get laid off, you fall on hard times, you can't pay your bills, your FICO crashes, you're basically fucked. Permanent unemployment for that sorry ass. The banks and FICO should go fuck themselves. Fuck FICO I say. I'd love to see the day when every American gives the banks the middle finger by not paying the CC bill for a month, shit maybe longer.
Yeah, Credit scores are becoming as much as important as financial institutions. Increased government regulation in this down economy has led to higher interest rates passed onto credit users. What you people think about this?? Raise Credit Score