I don't care about my credit score

[Hemphrey Bogart]

I used to not care about my credit back when I was in college. I didn't understand why everyone was worried about it really.

10 years ago, I started my day job and found out that I needed write offs for tax purposes. The government was taking almost half of my take home pay (filing single/zero is like putting a target on your back). I started to pay attention to my credit (never got calls from collectors myself) and worked on eliminating all my bad debt.

Paid off EVERYTHING I owed and bought a property last year with a fixed rate loan, 20% down. Buying a house is a great way to get write offs if you make too much reportable income. Buying an income property is even better.

Of course, if you don't care about your credit then that's your choice. If you don't make much money to begin with, then you don't get taxed much, and you aren't going to have to worry about buying a house since you can't qualify for a loan anyway (unless you put up a huge down payment), so it really shouldn't matter in that case.

That said, if you can save up enough to buy a house for cash, then more power to you. I did make a bunch of reportable income last year (my best year so far) and I would have gotten absolutely raped by the government if I didn't have any write offs.

I still don't understand why employers will base their hiring decisions on credit scores these days, but I guess the business world is changing.

 

[grouchy]

If you can get 200k-300k cash for a house........ why wouldnt you pay off piddly parking tickets & cell phone bills?

I could care less what respect you may or may not have for me based on my decision to cancel my phone and stop paying my contractual obligations to a meglo-corporation who has questionable business and environmental practices in the first place. i would never forsake a contract with an honest and good individual but corporations aren't people and they generally aren't good. what i knew yesterday and what i know today are two different things and my mindset when i signed that contract for a cell-phone is entirely different today once i learned of their shady business practices which include constructing cellphone towers in areas where residents unanimously vote against it. i spend my dollars as i see fit and i find it reason enough to dishonor a contract when the other party displays such abhorrent tactics. if i made a business contract with an owner of a sawmill for 2x4's to build my house and signed it and then found out 2 months later he was hiring illegal immigrants and not offering proper safety measures and the way the mill was run was questionable, i would have no qualms about negating on payment (and of course stopping receiving services and products) depending on their power to pursue me legally.

The original poster will negate contracts if he doesn't like what he signed up for. I would recommend anyone else to research the business before signing a contract to maintain personal responsibility and a good credit score.

 

[Cheeb]

interesting post.

My credit score is excellent...because I've always been careful with the dollars I did have and refrained from buying things BEFORE I could afford them.

But good credit is not what is holding me back from getting a loan..its my verifiable income which aint much.

Credit to help identify that you are a honest person that can repay loans/debts is a good thing.
Credit to fulfill your desire to live beyond your means is a luxury, but not necessary at all if your not desiring to do such a thing.

I guess its nice to have someone lend you money to drive a fancy 50k truck, but a cheaper used vehicle bought in cash is just..well, yours. One can easily own a brand new house in the right area of the country right now. 15k house / 15k rehab = brand new house for 30k.

Its all about desire to have more then you can currently afford. Nobody NEEDS a 50k truck or a 200k house, they just WANT.

Although I'd still like a large loan if I could get one (for property investment purposes), I dont need one and I can proudly say that what I have is mine.

If people would just stop WANTING so much damn stuff they'd be better off.

It bothers me when I hear of people getting off 20k in debt for 3k simply by pulling the "hardship" card and getting to settle. They should have not purchased things without being able to afford them. I'd have more simpathy towards someone in credit card debt if it was ONLY used for things needed to physically survive in a bad situation...but most just buy shit they cant afford because they WANT to and have a plastic card that gives them the ability to do so.

Its not impossible to get yourself into a good position without credit at all..
I'm young as hell
I own my vehicle
I own my house
I've never paid anything but the balance in full on a credt card.
...I've worked for what I've got, saved my money, and stopped wanting SHIT.

 

[apartmentblower]

i got a 45 dollar parking ticket today...in front of my own damn house that i paid 4k in property taxes to the state on. now they want to tax me more? fuck the sherrifs department! i could piss 45 dollars but its the principal that counts. my 45 dollars and everybody elsese 45 dollars is gonna go towards the alameda county sherrifs department getting more brand new Dodge chargers and other toys they dont need. fuck the police!

do you know if you can take a night in jail instead of paying the ticket? i mean thats the outcome right, if u don't pay a city ticket, you usually get sent to jail for a couple days or just a night right? do they charge you any prisoner fees or anything? i always paid city tickets (youll never catch me paying a private ticket) b/c i didnt wanna deal with court and shit but now that i think about it id rather spend a night in jail than give the dirty pigs any of my money. but im not sure if you get some sort of bill or something after.

 

[apartmentblower]

The original poster will negate contracts if he doesn't like what he signed up for. I would recommend anyone else to research the business before signing a contract to maintain personal responsibility and a good credit score.

if i go and park somewhere and im over by 5-10 minutes , especially on a private lot, ill get ticketed real quick. i already paid the fee, im not gonna pay some $60 ticket. i would gladly in those situations pay the rate for another hour but what they do is highway robbery. as for the cell-phone thing ive explained my choice to not support that company


anyways this was interesting , i wanted to know what others thought and it was a good discussion

 

[Hash Zeppelin]

10 acres in southern oregon, geodesic dome house, solar pannels, and an r.o. filter - 75-100 thousand bucks. being self sufficient and owning all your shit out right. PRICELESS. You dont need credit for this. just a small grow and a decade.

 

[arrg]

It bothers me when I hear of people getting off 20k in debt for 3k simply by pulling the "hardship" card and getting to settle. They should have not purchased things without being able to afford them. I'd have more sympathy towards someone in credit card debt if it was ONLY used for things needed to physically survive in a bad situation...but most just buy shit they cant afford because they WANT to and have a plastic card that gives them the ability to do so.

that stuff others the crap out of me too.I think it should be limited to people who have the family breadwinner pass away in an untimely manner and other such tragedies not just "whoops I bought to much stuff at the mall"

I have a couple black marks from a couple tickets and one from a place I had to do some court ordered meetings at. The court ordered meeting where from a place that I canceled then switched to a different place and they still billed me for the whole amount of 3 months worth of sessions.

The tickets I do not pay on principal I just insert a hand drawn picture in the envelope and tell them they owe me for the artwork. They cops write the ticket for no city sticker when I have one its just hard to see but I have to go in to contest and if I don't do it in 72 hours they say I can't contest it. I sometime don't see my car for a week.

It is a regular collection place now that sends me letters about the tickets so i might try to write the proper letters to get them off my back for real. I might even get my first credit card then.

 

[RockyMountainHi]

employers check credit, they run a check for insurance ---- and if your one of those who avoid credit - that's not good either.
It's much more expensive to be a bum.

Live within your means - damn few people do. Borrow only if you don't need to. Pay cash for EVERYTHING else.

I got a loan last year from my CU, she said I was the only approval she had that day. (I got laid off, so I up-graded my garden and needed a couple monthe float money) It's nice to have a safety net sometimes. Now I'm legal and self supporting once again.


Yesprop,,, - Parking tickets in front of your house should be a federal crime! lol We have street sweeping once a month all spring, summer and fall; so one day each monthit gets expensive to forget. Kinda like you said - it ain't the money so much - it's the fact the city is getting the money.

If I could get the ol lady and the sweepers on the same schedual,,,,, naaaaaaaa

 

[Yes4Prop215]

hey does leasing a car hurt your credit score?

 

[SuperSizeMe]

hey does leasing a car hurt your credit score?

Leasing a car in the first place requires a very good FICO score (700+) and does not hurt your credit as long as you pay on time.

 

[ocean_grown]

I had that same attitude until I tried getting my first apartment, no fuckin place around here will let you live in their residences without a decent credit score. Since then I've kept a credit card that I use religiously on the last sunday of every month for dinner, and I pay it back the next day. IDK what my credit score is but it's gotta be good cause I've always paid in full at the end of every month.. Like others have said, having bad credit can bite you in the ass when you need it most, my parents are still in about 10k credit card debt after working a solid 20 years (working their ASSES off) trying to pay it back.. Gotta be smarter than the credit card companies, don't give into those big impulse buys and you're set.

 

[Hemphrey Bogart]

It's funny, but I have three credit cards that I never use, all with a zero balance. I learned recently that the credit card companies call people like me "deadbeats." I say fuck em, lol. They're waiting for me to falter and fall back into debt, but it just ain't happening.

If you got 6 months of expenses saved and no debt, you are already way ahead of the game.

 

[!!!]

I'm somewhat of a hippy myself, but your credit is very important if you live in the US. What if you wake up with an idea for a business? What if they legalize weed in your state and you feel like opening up a dispensary? How are you going to collect cash before the competition gets a leg up on you?

Being in debt is normal. Learn to manage debt rather than eliminate it. Who cares if you're paying monthly, if you can afford to do so? If I have a $50k car, and a $500k home, and $100k in other debts, all on credit, and my monthly expenses comes out to $5000, and I'm making $6500 a month, is it really a problem?

I was $20k in a debt when I was 21, and then landed a great job, paid it off, and then.. just got in debt again, and paid it off again, and it kept happening, and I realized that I'm better off just managing my debt rather than trying to be debt free. This is all possible because I have excellent credit.

Yes you pay a extra in interest but you can negotiate that down, and I myself see it as a convenience fee. I'd rather pay little by little rather than blow $200k in one shot. Having cash in the bank is important.

 

[Centrum]

wait 7 years and its not on there anymore. works everytime

Wrong

 

[Hammerhead]

it takes 8 years for a chapter 7 to be off your credit report. It can take up to 10 years for charge offs to be removed off your report. If you are in that bad of trouble with your credit chaptor 7 can change everything and give you a fresh start

 

[sparkjumper]

The student loan police have been tracking me for years.Everything I have is paid for or I wouldnt have it.

 

[RudolfTheRed]

I guess its nice to have someone lend you money to drive a fancy 50k truck, but a cheaper used vehicle bought in cash is just..well, yours. One can easily own a brand new house in the right area of the country right now. 15k house / 15k rehab = brand new house for 30k.

I agree. I wont buy a new car for the life of me. I get me an old beater for nothing, fix it up (which I enjoy anyway), and a 15-20 yr old truck all the sudden runs better than some of these newer models, and i spent a quarter of the money. i'll even put in a little body work if necessary.
same with old houses. found me an old home for next to nothing on a lot of property, next to more property thats nothing but woods. got the house for nothing, did some renovations (myself and some hired hands) and had a better home, than any of these cheap ass stick homes built today. for what??? about a quarter of the price again.

people waste money and have no idea that they can save and have things that are just as nice if they would use a little know how.

 

[gingerale]

If I have a $50k car, and a $500k home, and $100k in other debts, all on credit, and my monthly expenses comes out to $5000, and I'm making $6500 a month, is it really a problem?

Not at all....until some unexpected problem occurs that cuts your income in half. When the bank repossesses your home, car, furniture, and 90% of your "belongings" for non-payment and sells them for a pittance at wholesale prices (leaving you responsible for the difference), you'll be left standing with NOTHING to show for that $5000/month you were so lavishly spending.

 

[Bud Bug]

employers check credit, they run a check for insurance ----

If an employer checks for my credit before I get hired I don't want to work for them Simple as that.

If you have equity then your really don't need good credit but you can't get equity (ie buy a house) with out good credit.

 

[GryphN]

I had a perfect one until I had to go on disability (for the past 6 years) ... now its in the toilet... to be honest, i dont really give a damn... We're all dead in 2012 anyway, right?