The Dangers of Avoiding Credit

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My credit is down in the dumps right now and, I have to admit, I'm not that worried about it. I'm 64 and don't need a lot of material things to make my life okay. I own a small one-bedroom condo, drive a 12-year old car, and am preparing for retirement (in 18-24 months). I want to sell my condo when I quit working, and plan to move to upstate NY to be close to my daughter and her family.

Terri of TX 3:50PM July 03, 2012

We have no mortgage (paid off), no loans of any kind, and use debit cards or cash, checks. We know this lowers our credit score, because our insurance co. tells us. Why should we care? Because in our state, as in many, part of your rate is based on it. We can't even get our "free" score - they say they have no records (or some such thing), but if we pay x dollars we can get a "detailed" report. What a racket. It should be illegal.

Bruce Cobb of NH 12:58PM July 17, 2011

For years the banks and mortgage companies have brainwashed us into believing a high credit score is good - it is not. A high credit score means you are the type of person more likely to remain in debt for a long time - which the banks love. If you can't buy it with cash you're not ready to buy it. Use credit cards for emergencies ONLY and always pay them down ASAP. CREDIT IS THE NEW SLAVERY.

BG of NJ 3:10PM March 23, 2011

So financially-smart people avoid running a credit balance or pay it off early only to later be denied a home loan... Credit scores? Pshh more like chump scores.

Ken of CA 5:40PM March 22, 2011

Check out your Credit Score IQ with this great online quiz from Consumer Federation of America: http://www.creditscorequiz.org/. You might be surprised by what you don’t know!

AAWolf of MD 11:30AM March 02, 2011