Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire The only way to build credit is to finance something

The only way to build credit is to finance something. Ever hear that BS before?

I checked my credit report and got my credit score from 3 different companies just in case I had to rent a house soon I wanted to be sure there were no suprises.

On my credit report the only thing listed at all was my monthly credit card bill that I use to order stuff and pay off each month. That was it. I've read they list stuff that goes back 7 years. No house payment, no car payments, nothing else.

According to all 3 sites my credit "score" (which I think is a total joke) is better than 98.9% of the credit scores.

Sounds to me like you are just better off to pay your bills each month instead of financing something.

Was taught that in college. The destruction of America, if you believe in "lend not, borrow not"

My mortgage company does not report to ant credit bureaus. I only pay my car insurance and cell phone bill. I seem to have no credit score as in no record at all. Not really worried about it but it does seem strange.

Isn't that real muslim?

Last time I had my credit score checked it was in the upper 800's.

Doesn't really mean anything to me except that I have the ability to enslave myself to some banker,...

,...but those days are over.

Credit amuses me. It's a measurement of debt, really. The concept is that you repeatedly go into small debts now so that you can go into major debt later.

All I needed to know about credit and debt is summed up in this; "The borrower is slave to the lender."

I look at credit reports all day every day. Your CR will show term loans and revolving debt. The only way it shows other types of debt is if you default on a payment arrangement, like not paying the gas bill or your Verizon bill. When those creditors turn your azz over to collections, the debt can (but doesn't always) get reported to the 3 major credit reporting agencies as a defaulted loan. the other thing that kills someones "score" is judgements and liens. Those don't usually help your interest rate on the new Caddy with the bitchin rims.

We went through our local bank & set our daughter (who is 10) up with a credit card & a checking & savings accounts. She writes her own checks & pays her own bills through those accounts & the bank manager (a family friend) has allowed her to borrow & re-pay several small loans with us as co-signers. I remember well having to have my parents sign on loans for me when I bought first cars or anything else that required a loan. With a little luck & some supervision, hopefully she is learning a little monetary responsibility & building her reputation if not her credit early on.

How did you get a mortgage without a credit rating? Who is your company? I know for a long time my credit union didn't report either.

I needed a bank to start and continue my business. I have done well.

I'm just curious what you think your credit card is, if not "financing".?

Using your credit card to order stuff and pay it off each month is certainly using credit. Nothing at all wrong with that. Using credit wisely is a good thing.

I've ran into many cases where it saved me money to buy on credit. I could have paid cash for my last car, but I would have lost a lot more in interest income by pulling money out of savings than to finance at a very good rate.

Using credit often, and wisely builds a good credit score and proves you are a responsible person. Most insurance companies are now basing your homeowners and car insurance on your credit score.

If you are the type who never uses credit and pays cash for everything you are paying more for your insurance and will make it much more difficult to get a home or car loan if needed. And if you do get approved for a loan will pay a higher interset rate than someone with a proven credit record.

You may be the most responsible person in the world, but until you prove you can handle credit you are considered a risk by lending institutions.

where the heck are you finding an interest rate that beats what a "good finance rate " is?

I've made car payments on one vehicle in my life, 0% interest when they first came out with it for 36 months

the bank sure ain't paying much above 0% these days, I'm all ears if you're inclined to share

course I've only bought 4 new ones off the lot in the 20-30 vehicles I've owned.

use a CC and pay it off every month and get free travel and stuff, what's not to like?

I have no idea what my credit score is and couldn't hardly care less.

don't really plan on borrowing any more money. Last time I was tempted was on a 2.4 million office building, I'm glad we let that one slide. 10-15 years ago it would have been tempting.

but times and financial markets seem shaky to me, I like being debt free.

nothing in the world wrong with having credit cards, or in using them.
Misuse is the problem. Paying bills on time, maintaining a proper debt/credit balance, and staying within your means will almost guarantee a good FICO score. It's all about metrics.
Like it or not, 90% of all lenders use your FICO score to determine if they will do biz with ya.
Retired, poor, and on limited income, mine still comes in at better than 830.

A couple decades ago, that was actually true.. I was in the finance biz for nearly 15 years, and if an applicant had no credit history, they did NOT get a loan, period, unless they had a ton of money down.. Even then, the rate would be higher than those with a credit history. They use other information now to issue a score - and that score is dependent upon exactly what you're intending to do..

That credit card is the one thing you 'financed'.. But credit reports can have information that goes back a LOT longer than seven years.. Mine, for instance, goes all the way back to the late '80s....and last score I had was over 800..

and that's probably accurate.. It's all them O-voters who drag down the average and leaves yours near the top..

Well, yeah (duh).. But sometimes that's not always possible - say, if you're buying a house instead of renting..

I know the president of my bank pretty well and he says lots of small companies only report it if you don't pay on time and never if you pay on time, it's illegal but he said many of them do it.

For me it's a 2 week interest free loan at a cost of $55 year

So I guess it falls under financing but I've never incured an interest charge and it has to be paid off each month. I guess technically if it has to be paid off in under 30 days it is really a charge card.

I had scores in the 820s to 830s when I bought this place. I want with a coop bank called Northwest Farm Credit Services. It was forty acres of land with no improvements when we bought it. Ever with the houses and improvements it is not a Freddy/Fannie loan. Since I bought the place and paid on time through the construction the refinanced without pulling my credit. Since there has been no reporting on me to Equifax in seven years they claim I no longer have an account. In fact, the last address they have for me was a home we sold in 2002. I could straighten them out but what the heck, no credit, no being bombarded with credit card offers. The only bills I have are the mortgage, car insurance, and cell phone. I like it this way.

Does the 'land trust' share ownership or co-sign with you on the loan?

That might explain why the banker isn't so nervous...grin

Nope, The loan is in three names, My wife, daughter and myself. The bank told be they never report to any of the credit agencies. They are my only real creditor and it would be considered high credit.