Green Machine
Dedicated LVC Member
Nice Avatar Rich! having a Jimi hendrix moment?
my precious, is all mine
- Thread starter topher5150
- Start date
Wise words, indeed. However, my wife wants me to, at some point, start building up a credit score by having a card I regularly pay off and possibly an occasional loan.
02LSE96LSC91SE84TC
Dedicated LVC Member
Credit is needed at some point in your life.
There are some basic rules to follow and its easy to build good strong credit.
Just have to be careful cause its easier to make bad credit.
Blenderhead
Well-Known LVC Member
Trust me, don't do it. It's very easy to lose track of how much you spent on it, and they are merciless if you are late one time, they will start hitting you up with fees and jacking up the interest rates. I had to learn this lesson the hard way, twice!
If you want to do anything to build credit, buy some tools from Mac or Snap-on or something like that. Doing it that way you will actually get something you can use, and they aren't going to be out to screw you the way credit card companies are.
If you want to do anything to build credit, buy some tools from Mac or Snap-on or something like that. Doing it that way you will actually get something you can use, and they aren't going to be out to screw you the way credit card companies are.
02LSE96LSC91SE84TC
Dedicated LVC Member
If he needed tools maybe. And those guys are crooks too. Outragous priced tools.
Seriously thats one of the most important rules. Never a late payment. Even if that means sending the minimum. A minimum on time has more power than a big or complete payment late. Alot of people screw that up.
You need credit to live unless your going to live with your parents forever.
Get a card. Just buy your gas. Just your gas period. Thats something you will always need and will not buy more than you need. Pay it off at the end of the month. Simple way to do it.
There are alot of ways to keep it check.
Yeah, I'll do some more research. Tools, maybe a cheap car etc. I suppose I could get on short term finance. Anything really that can help build up a good score. (and give me useful stuff in process) My wife is pretty anal about financial stuff, so I'm sure she'll steer me right. A card that's used for gas and paid on time sounds like a good idea too.
kustomizingkid
Dedicated LVC Member
I need to get a credit card... and maybe take out and pay back a small loan.
ford nut
Local nut case
Thats not true...lol
Now women....they evil
You just have to manage it.
If you ever want to buy a house at the lowest rate going saving you TONS of money you have to build you credit rating.
Hell I financed a 12 k divorce at zero % intrest because of my credit rating.
You never know when you will need it.
Kid get a card and be smart with it.
Dont by stupid stuff you dont need.
kustomizingkid
Dedicated LVC Member
I really need a 9.5" triple disk converter for my Mark.....
Thats not true...lol
Now women....they evil
You just have to manage it.
If you ever want to buy a house at the lowest rate going saving you TONS of money you have to build you credit rating.
Hell I financed a 12 k divorce at zero % intrest because of my credit rating.
You never know when you will need it.
Kid get a card and be smart with it.
Dont by stupid stuff you dont need.
I agree Women are evil. :lol: Kid if you do get a card do like ford nut says be careful with it.
Blenderhead
Well-Known LVC Member
That is absolutely true!
Thats not true...lol
Now women....they evil
Over the course of the last 10 years (I'm 26) credit cards have definitely cost me more money than women! Plus a woman will not let you spend your money on another woman. A credit card is happy to let you dig yourself into the hole with 3 or 4 other cards at the same time.
As for the statement about buying a house down the line, if I had back all the money I wasted with credit cards, that would make for a nice down payment on a house, and someone with very little credit history but a 20% down-payment will probably get just as good an interest rate as someone with good credit who doesn't have 2 cents to rub together. And if you succumb to the credit cards, that WILL be the situation you are in.
Also, think of it this way. The minimum payment on credit cards is low enough that you will never pay it off. You are probably only going to use the card when you don't have the money to buy the thing right now. Whatever it is that you want and don't have the money for, would you rather wait a couple weeks for it, or would you rather be making payments on it for the next 20 years? I realized one day that I was paying 20% interest on about $2500 in car parts for a car that I had blown up and sold on ebay for $600 about 4 years prior! And that was just one of the many things I didn't have to show for a pile of high interest debt. Please listen to me on this one, you don't need credit cards, and you are much better off without them. At this point, I haven't used any in over a year, and I will never use them again. I only hope other people don't dig themselves in a hole the way I did. If the card is there, it will be a temptation when things are tight, but when things are tight is when they are the most dangerous, and when you have the money you don't need to borrow it, so everyone do yourself a favor and don't get any credit cards in the first place!
OK, rant over.
ford nut
Local nut case
I understand how you would get your point of view.
But I sure don't agree with it.
A credit card can be a tool to use to increase your credit score.
Sure if its abused you will pay a high price.
If you and I are both going to get a 200 k mortgage and put 20 % down, and my credit rating is in the high 700s and yours is in the low 600s, I will get the better rate thats how it works, I am less of a risk.
Lets just say I get 5.0 %
You get 7.0 %
At the end of 30 years you will pay a hell of alot more then me.
Do the math
Don't use credit cards to "borrow money".
Save the money....buy with the card....pay it off....keep doing the same cycle.
As 02LSE96LSC91SE84TC said...
Make that a rule on everything...gas bills...truck payment...all your bills.
If you can't pay cash for it dont buy it.....If you can pay cash charge it then pay it off.
:soapbox:
Blenderhead I had the same problem you have...it took years to build up my credit.
Now I get the best rates, and it sure saved my a$$ when I needed it the most.
kustomizingkid
Dedicated LVC Member
I think I can handle the responsibility...
Just be careful about them.
MediumD
Dedicated LVC Member
What he said...
What I do to make sure I don't get out of hand with my card and so I know where my money is really going is this... My cell phone runs Windows Mobile and I installed an application that tracks my bank and credit accounts. I log every purchase made on a credit or debit card, including ATM withdrawals, etc, so I know the exact balance in my bank and my credit account. I log everything, religiously.
Since my goal is to build/maintain an excellent credit score, I aim for spending 20-30% of my card's credit limit per month, and then pay it in full every billing cycle. If I won't be able to afford something, I can see it instantly instead of kicking myself at the end of the month.
Woof47
Active LVC Member
There is a lot of good advice here both for and against credit cards. Bottom line is that in order to survive financially in today's world, you must have good credit or an awfully large amount of cash readily available. Do what's needed to establish good credit AND start saving some of that 'extra' money you now have. Even saving $5.00 each week is better than saving nothing.
Blenderhead
Well-Known LVC Member
I find the latter to be far less stressful!