Originally Posted by ooIRON MANoo
I know, it was aimed at the "credit is overrated" crowd. Hard to get a mortgage with no credit.
Have a friend who just got his first credit card, he turns 27 in April. A lifetime "cash" guy. Good luck building that credit.
I had rough patches with credit in college, but once I got a stable job I turned the tables. 800+ across the board for me,
If he has a rewards card have him pay all his bills (those allowed) with a credit card and everything else like gas, food, groceries. It's usually .1 cent of cashback you get but certain categories can get .5 cents on the dollar. I have a few but I stick to my amazon visa for most and pay for my ps3 games with the rewards. My worldpoints for travel as its catered to air mileage rewards.
, he's a lost cause. He only has it for "emergencies" only. Emergencies don't build credit. "Why u no listen?"
I just have an AMEX (Costco) and Chase Freedom that I use frequently and pay off every month.
Originally Posted by foreveryoung
I think the majority of you saying credit is a great tool, its not bad etc etc are failing to realize that the majority of ppl ARE NOT using it wisely
You can use debt as leverage for a lot of things, but like someone said earlier, if you cant afford it without the credit, dont buy it with
How can it be bad advice to NOT buy a car on credit, but to pay cash and save the rest of your money? Or that as a college student you should avoid CCs completely? Wait till you get outa school and get that job, your credit score doesnt determine your life
I'm pretty sure most to all of us are aware that the majority of whom are in debt are clearly not using it wisely...Originally Posted by foreveryoung
I think the majority of you saying credit is a great tool, its not bad etc etc are failing to realize that the majority of ppl ARE NOT using it wisely
You can use debt as leverage for a lot of things, but like someone said earlier, if you cant afford it without the credit, dont buy it with
How can it be bad advice to NOT buy a car on credit, but to pay cash and save the rest of your money? Or that as a college student you should avoid CCs completely? Wait till you get outa school and get that job, your credit score doesnt determine your life
Fortunately, I never had a student loan due to Florida Pre-Paid and Bright Futures. However, I do know a lot of people who are still paying their debts strictly from them and am aware that it can be quite a burden...Originally Posted by 2SeatPort
I still have student loans so I'm using them to build my credit, which I hope I'll never need.
Banks have already tried to $*#(@& with me even without using any of their stupid credit cards. My student loans changed servicers on THE DAY MY interest began accruing, and I couldn't even make a payment for a week while they were processing the change from Citi to Sallie Mae. $50 right thereI complained but haven't gotten a follow up yet. Also when Wamu became chase my "free" checking account began charging $7 a month that took me 2 months and 5-10 hours on the phone/visiting a branch to get removed. Couldn't even recoup both month's payments either.
Also, keep in mind that banks would have no incentive to offer these "rewards" programs if they aren't making an absolute KILLING off of people using these cards. It's such an insult to consumer intelligence. 1% cash back huh? whats your interest rate? 10% +? So even if I stay on top of zeroing out my balance every month I'm paying 99% of what I would have paid and won't see the 1% back for a year, while the bank that hooked you with a stupid incentive at a minimal 1% risk to them that will be completely offset if you don't pay/forget to pay one month. $(*#& outta here
And all that other "I get free flights though" blah blah blah... Either you've paid more in interest than those flights were worth or you played their game and bought *$#@ you didn't need just to get those points, or they're targeting you for their even bigger plan of financing a car or home loan through them cause you think they are cool because of your little perk. At the very least they are pestering you with "better financing deals". F*** credit cards.
I rarely, if ever agree with you BUT you hit the nail on the head.Originally Posted by RFX45
Originally Posted by foreveryoung
I think the majority of you saying credit is a great tool, its not bad etc etc are failing to realize that the majority of ppl ARE NOT using it wisely
You can use debt as leverage for a lot of things, but like someone said earlier, if you cant afford it without the credit, dont buy it with
How can it be bad advice to NOT buy a car on credit, but to pay cash and save the rest of your money? Or that as a college student you should avoid CCs completely? Wait till you get outa school and get that job, your credit score doesnt determine your life
And it's a guarantee NTers will be better off paying cash for everything?
So your saying that if you can't afford a house without a credit, don't buy one? How many people in the world actually buys houses only when they have the cash to pay it all off? Or on a car?
Everyones situation is different. Like that one dude who made a thread about getting a $9k loan because he needed a moderately nice car which was necessary for his job to drive clients around. If he doesn't have the cash he'd be stuck with an 85 Accord and probably lose or jeopardize his job. He has to get a loan, a credit line. If he paid cash his whole life and has no built credit, he'd be screwed and might be out of a job. Emergencies happens all the time.
If I want to get a loan to get a nicer car and have a 5-year loan of $300/month at 2.5% interest, that isn't a problem if it is only about 10%-20% of my salary and it certainly isn't the factor that's preventing me from becoming a millionaire.
Just like anything else, there is a good and a bad but it all depends on how responsible a person is. It's better to give advice on starting a good and responsible habit than going on the extreme on either end.
And it's a guarantee NTers will be better off paying cash for everything?
So your saying that if you can't afford a house without a credit, don't buy one? How many people in the world actually buys houses only when they have the cash to pay it all off? Or on a car?
Everyones situation is different. Like that one dude who made a thread about getting a $9k loan because he needed a moderately nice car which was necessary for his job to drive clients around. If he doesn't have the cash he'd be stuck with an 85 Accord and probably lose or jeopardize his job. He has to get a loan, a credit line. If he paid cash his whole life and has no built credit, he'd be screwed and might be out of a job. Emergencies happens all the time.
If I want to get a loan to get a nicer car and have a 5-year loan of $300/month at 2.5% interest, that isn't a problem if it is only about 10%-20% of my salary and it certainly isn't the factor that's preventing me from becoming a millionaire.
Just like anything else, there is a good and a bad but it all depends on how responsible a person is. It's better to give advice on starting a good and responsible habit than going on the extreme on either end.
I def see what youre saying, and I agree about not taking it to either extreme. But when I think of a good habit I think of saving your money, not learning how to get and mng a good credit score, which is what I think we're all bein fed and what OPs point is. We're not being taught the principle of make and save. And im not sayin that like im some genius millionaireIm just learning this as well
As far as dude with the car; I dunno the circumstances but I agree credit can and should be used in some situations, but as leverage not a crutch. In that situation it sounds like dude is using credit as leverage to further his career. On the other hand, when you say what if you wanted a nicer car, credit could help you afford one. I'd ask why would you want a nicer car? And the fact that you say you could use credit to get one kinda shows OPs point
You say credit is needed for emergencies. 9/10 a nicer car isnt an emergency. Thats the thing too tho, when you have that credit in your back pocket, everything becomes an emergency(forgot cash, kids need new shoes, Christmas) Those of you who do have things borrowed or paid with CC i'd ask how much do you got put away, and if you lost your income(layoff, injury etc) could you still afford the payments? If so then good for you for real. Like yall said it has some benefits.
And no im not saying everybody should buy their house cash. I realize most ppl couldnt do that unless they saved for a decent amt of time. But ppl look at their current incomes and think they can afford a mortgage, even tho they have NO money saved. They cant afford the house, but with credit they can still get it. Im just sayin you should buy a house based on your financial position, not what youre credit score qualifies you for
That being said, I dont think anyone is arguing that credit/debt isnt a necessity. Most if not all major corps have 100s of millions of dollars in credit and loans, hell the US as a whole is ran on credit. But it is OVERRATED. Teaching dudes that they should get CCs and loans while their young just for the purpose of building a credit score, or earning 'points', is not good advice
I want a nicer car because I feel that I could afford it. It won't be a crutch in my situation. Again, it is about discipline and responsibilities. I know that I can have a car note and not miss a single meal or eat ramen for a week to afford my next mortgage. Me personally, could I afford to pay cash for a car? Sure but would I? Chances are, no. I can get a good rate because I took care of my credit history and can have low payments. Instead of paying $35k cash on a car, I'd rather get that 2.5% rate pay it in 5 years and save up and put the cash in case of emergency or as an investment. I really would rather have that cash on hand than losing it right away. Like most say here, cars depreciate as soon as you drive them off the lot so if you pay cash that is like throwing away cash right away.Originally Posted by foreveryoung
As far as dude with the car; I dunno the circumstances but I agree credit can and should be used in some situations, but as leverage not a crutch. In that situation it sounds like dude is using credit as leverage to further his career. On the other hand, when you say what if you wanted a nicer car, credit could help you afford one. I'd ask why would you want a nicer car? And the fact that you say you could use credit to get one kinda shows OPs point
You say credit is needed for emergencies. 9/10 a nicer car isnt an emergency. Thats the thing too tho, when you have that credit in your back pocket, everything becomes an emergency(forgot cash, kids need new shoes, Christmas) Those of you who do have things borrowed or paid with CC i'd ask how much do you got put away, and if you lost your income(layoff, injury etc) could you still afford the payments? If so then good for you for real. Like yall said it has some benefits.
That is where responsibility and discipline that hopefully these people learn will kick in. See, buying house these days doesn't just require you to have great credit, everything else like your salary and debt play a big role too. Just because you have a credit score of 800+ doesn't guarantee you can get a $500k loan if you're making $30k a year, especially in this economy. But if you want a $150k house loan even with a $30k a year salary, then that good credit will help you buy that house. With bad credit, it will be very difficult to get that loan. All I am saying is good credit is a necessity and can be very helpful and I think we both agree on that.
Originally Posted by foreveryoung
That being said, I dont think anyone is arguing that credit/debt isnt a necessity. Most if not all major corps have 100s of millions of dollars in credit and loans, hell the US as a whole is ran on credit. But it is OVERRATED. Teaching dudes that they should get CCs and loans while their young just for the purpose of building a credit score, or earning 'points', is not good advice
Amex ftw! I still don't know what to do with all the membership rewards points
Because the 70% of people who don't pay off their debt each month are better off because of it?Originally Posted by sniper
at thinking "Cash is King"...
Please don't suggest that people entering the "credit-world" cease before they even start. You'd be setting them up for an assortment of hardships later on in life...
What amount $-wise are you talking?
