Did I screw up?

[CREEPERBOB]

Yeah there are more folks like that than not.
We keep a couple cards going and the only other payment we have is our camp trailer. But we did'nt take out that loan untill we paid our truck off, so we have a steady line of credit "working" for us and have plenty of room to do what we want along with owning our home also.
Hell, we pay more in property taxes than credit debt.

 

[C*H*U*D]

You don't "have" to play it.

Even if you want to buy a house that is well within your means, you will have to deal with a lender who will use your score to determine your interest rate.

 

[Duuuuuuuude]

Even if you want to buy a house that is well within your means, you will have to deal with a lender who will use your score to determine your interest rate.

True, and they'll probably try to push you to take out a bigger loan too.

Just because the market does not play in our favor does not mean we should just say "fawk it" and surrender all sensibility. We have it beaten into our skulls every day that we should buy buy buy and live like our credit score is as essential as water and air, and in truth our debt is more important to 'them' than it is to us.

 

[JeremyH]

True, and they'll probably try to push you to take out a bigger loan too.

Of course they will.....every salesman tries to upsell. It takes a rational and smart consumer to decline...."thumbsup"

 

[C*H*U*D]

I got lost somewhere along the line.

When I said it was a game we all had to play, I didn't mean that we have to go out and charge up the cards and live beyond our means. I've always felt the opposite.

What I meant was, like it or not your score is what it is because of how you handle (or choose not to handle) your credit and spending habits. When you want to make that big purchase, your score will determine your interest rate and it could mean the difference of hundreds each month on what you pay.

 

[badhoopty]

debt and credit makes my head hurt... i have one credit card that i use from time to time and absolutely no debt.

probably hurts my rating but i rest pretty easy at night knowing im not in debt to anybody and not living above my means.

 

[johnnyh66]

i have one credit card that i use from time to time and absolutely no debt.

pic (front & back please) or it didn't happen! "thumbsup"

 

[dont slow down]

Been trying to get out of debt for years and I'm slowly bringing that to a close. My car will be paid off in 2 months, have one credit card still with a little on it, another with a little on it, and two cards with nothing on it, also my fiance's ring, which is 0%. Her car will be paid off in 4 months, she has one card with a couple hundred left and thats it. Then its save save save for our wedding.

 

[johnnyh66]

I actually started out pretty f'd up... I had no help really, had to figure it out as I went.

At 19, knocked up an insane woman old enough to be my teenage momma.
Didn't have health insurance and the TWINS were born 3 months premature.
The state picked up the 100k bill and put me on a payment plan, revoked my passport privileges and screwed my credit.

Decided I better go to school so I could make some money, racked up a lot of debt there cause once again... I had no idea wtf I was doing.

Paid child support throughout the whole mess... which meant unpaid utility bills and skipped rent payments throughout school... which equals more f'd up credit.

Have paid cash for everything ever since cause I couldn't get a credit card... which means no credit repair.

6 years ago I realized how insane my babies momma was and sued for custody which wiped out my entire life savings... but I won.

Well, 19 years latter, I'm finally getting it all under control/paid off and rebuilding my credit. "thumbsup"

 

[sick86burban]

just use cash,its alot easier and dont have to **** with credit scores

 

[C*H*U*D]

just use cash,its alot easier and dont have to **** with credit scores

Even for a house?

 

[Duuuuuuuude]

I got lost somewhere along the line.

Well I know its not my fault. I'm well known for my laser-like focus and complete and utter topic stability.














































:lmao:

 

[Duuuuuuuude]

Even for a house?

 

[RANOVRU]

If we applied the idea of "living within ones means" across the board, virtually everyone would be living beyond their means.

Bottom line, if you have to borrow money for something than you cant afford it. But as Duuude so wonderfuly pointed out, its been etched into our brains for the last 50+yrs that this is normal and just the way things are.

 

[C*H*U*D]

You guys need to go back to the beginning, and read what this thread started out as.

It's not about living beyond your means, or charging up your credit cards. It's about how your credit score is calculated, and how that score is applied when you want to buy a house.

 

[RANOVRU]

You guys need to go back to the beginning, and read what this thread started out as.

It's not about living beyond your means, or charging up your credit cards. It's about how your credit score is calculated, and how that score is applied when you want to buy a house.

And I think we, or at least I, were saying that the credit system is BS.

Credit is based on borrowing money, which is something you really shouldnt be doing anyway.

 

[KBrog]

Your credit score probably has more to do with how well you will make a bank money than anything else. You are no longer making the bank money every month by paying off your loan so your score went down. A person with a perfect credit score probably pays most of there money away in interest.

Me. Ill take a lower score and keep my money in my hand. It just makes more sense to me.

 

[Meatwad]

Your credit score probably has more to do with how well you will make a bank money than anything else. You are no longer making the bank money every month by paying off your loan so your score went down. A person with a perfect credit score probably pays most of there money away in interest.

Me. Ill take a lower score and keep my money in my hand. It just makes more sense to me.

You must be able to buy a home or vehicle outright. Some of us aren't so independently wealthy.

 

[Duuuuuuuude]

Your credit score probably has more to do with how well you will make a bank money than anything else. You are no longer making the bank money every month by paying off your loan so your score went down. A person with a perfect credit score probably pays most of there money away in interest.

It is possible to have "too good" of a credit score. And yes, you can get denied a loan because of it, just the same as those with crappy credit scores.

Lenders don't want to loan people money who will pay it off ahead of schedule...they don't make as much money that way. Their ideal customers are those who make minimum payments or even a few late payments. The money isn't in the loan, its in the interest and other associated fees. This is the lesson that DickyT just found out...

 

[C*H*U*D]

And I think we, or at least I, were saying that the credit system is BS.

Credit is based on borrowing money, which is something you really shouldnt be doing anyway.

Unless you want to buy a house, which is what this thread is about.

Me. Ill take a lower score and keep my money in my hand. It just makes more sense to me.

And when the bank gives you a higher interest rate on the house, what will you think of your lower score then?

This is the lesson that DickyT just found out...

DickyT's score went down because his loan diversification went down when he paid off the car. This is what I meant by "a game we all have to play".

Believe me, I'm not advocating running up your credit cards...this is not what this discussion is about. What I am saying is, like it or not we all have a credit score...every single one of us. Use that information to your advantage and you will save hundreds every month on your mortgage. This is what Richard is trying to do.