Do you keep a credit card ? Or only a debit ?

[Turveyd]

Got sucked into credit cards ever increasing which is great living it large at the time till it runs out then your just living to pay cards which is a shit life.

Defaulted on all of them which freezes the interest then easy to pay them back as it doesnt just cover interest

 

[wrbtrader]

Paying bills won't do shit for your credit score unless you don't pay them - they won't keep a credit score active. You had loans and that's what kept yours alive. If you have no action on your account for 10 years, it's all wiped.

https://www.equifax.com/personal/ed...-long-does-information-stay-on-credit-report/

I'm sure you know you can put "action" on your credit history without the need of a credit card...right ?

As stated from the beginning...pay off your loans...pay off your debt. You will not be penalized.

wrbtrader

 

[GettingThere]

Correct, but if no loans or revolving credit, in 10 years you have no credit history at all. I'm done, this is boring.

 

[wrbtrader]

It's true that you can maintain a credit score without a credit card, but you have to have some type of revolving account. Most credit models require recent credit history to generate a score. Your FICO score will disappear if a creditor hasn't reported activity in your name to the credit bureaus in the past 6 months. Obviously this is an issue if you haven't had debt in years.

Exactly, you can have an excellent credit without a credit card although two people believed that's not correct. The key was that you had to have had good credit history prior to destroying those credit cards. Mine were destroyed in 1995 and it has not caused me any problems.

• That's the primary point I'm making.

The other point I'm making...you can then work towards becoming debt free if that's possible for you. You will not be penalized once you reached that debt free threshold unless you had problems (late payments) while getting there.

You will still have good credit.

wrbtrader

 

[SunTrader]

If you don't have a credit card and don't have a car payment and don't have a mortgage you don't, for the most part, have credit history.

Which means you are a credit risk.

Plain and simple - a blank slate.

 

[wrbtrader]

Correct, but if no loans or revolving credit, in 10 years you have no credit history at all. I'm done, this is boring.

Never said "no loans" nor implied it. In fact, I've specifically gave examples of personal loans and mention business loan.

Regardless, discussion only about "credit cards".

wrbtrader

 

[wrbtrader]

If you don't have a credit card and don't have a car payment and don't have a mortgage you don't, for the most part, have credit history.

Which means you are a credit risk.

Plain and simple - a blank slate.

Suntrader,

You can buy a car or lease one without a credit card although that's not what you were stating. Same with a home...you don't need a credit card. Someone jumped into the conversation to imply if you're debt free...you have no credit history...

• Not true.

When my kid goes off to college next year in the U.S...I'm going to buy him a car without a credit card. The same way I bought my car and the two cars before that.

Credit cards are one of the easiest ways to establish a credit history (good or bad).

P.S. Debt free implies you once had debt and now its all payed off.

wrbtrader

 

[SunTrader]

You can buy a new car with credit history or .... paying cash only.

You can lease a new car with credit history only.

Meanwhile there are all kinds of ways to buy a used car.

 

[Overnight]

Suntrader,

You can buy a car or lease one without a credit card. Same with a home...you don't need a credit card. Someone jumped into the conversation to imply if you're debt free...you have no credit history...

• Not true.

When my kid goes off to college next year in the U.S...I'm going to buy him a car without a credit card. The same way I bought my car and the two cars before that.

wrbtrader

Being debt free does not automatically mean you have good credit. If you buy a car or house or pay tuition in full with cash, you by definition do not have a credit history, which simply shows the ability to pay off debts in a timely fashion. No debt, no credit history.

If in seven to ten years you do not establish another line of revolving credit after the last activity on those accounts, the only credit history you will have on file is your age, past residences, and no payment history. That is kinda' bad for credit scores?

 

[wrbtrader]

Being debt free does not automatically mean you have good credit. If you buy a car or house or pay tuition in full with cash, you by definition do not have a credit history, which simply shows the ability to pay off debts in a timely fashion. No debt, no credit history.

If in seven to ten years you do not establish another line of revolving credit after the last activity on those accounts, the only credit history you will have on file is your age, past residences, and no payment history. That is kinda' bad for credit scores?

You can check your credit history to determine if you have good or bad credit rating regardless if you're debt free or not. It's free to check although your bank will do it for you and inform you about your rating for any personal loans or business loans.

I had excellent credit prior to burning my cards and have maintain that credit rating even to this day without the need of a credit card...that's still the point I'm making and I'm debt free.

wrbtrader