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112 Comments
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -6/+39http://www.creditboards.com
that is the last credit info site you will ever need - amandaw33, on 10/12/2007, -3/+23Or when you want to buy a house.. unless you're really good at saving
- Jerkbot, on 10/12/2007, -1/+20So it's better to give my money away to some landlord while trying to save to by a house with cash?
No thanks. I'll take the mortgage. - Jerkbot, on 10/12/2007, -2/+18"Just live debt free"
until you need to borrow money and I realize you have "no credit" - Philoushka, on 10/12/2007, -3/+14.... until your identity is stolen, and you're F'ed in the A.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp
This one is actually free, no fees or any other crap. - TheSak, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9Agreed on creditboards.com! And the only place to get your *real* FICO scores is http://www.myfico.com
- MrOrange49, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9@n8r0n
you have to understand what Homunculiheaded is saying. I do this. Almost everything, virtually everything i buy each month goes on a AMEX, then when the bill comes in i pay it off. No interest, no fees. I get to use someone elses money free for 30 days while my money is sitting in an account earning almost 5% interest until i have to pay the amex bill.
It's not debt that is bad, its not knowing how to manage it thats bad. - iamnos, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8@n8r0n
For someone trying to appear to be incredibly smart about money, you'd be very foolish if you're paying off your mortgage faster than the minimum payment. Why? Simple, you can get far better returns on your money in investments than you'll save by paying off your mortgage early. Debt isn't always a bad thing, especially if your investments are making more than the debt is costing you. - kliewer, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9@n8r0n
If you think delivering pizza will pay for college these days you are sadly mistaken. - BOTW, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7I am down with living within your means, but many of the pro-Ramsey commenters reminds me of the fringe party supporters who are always yelling at people outside of my DC office. Stridency doesn't make for the most convincing arguments.
Please come to grip with the fact that sensible use of debt makes economic sense. Debt may not be for everyone, but use of leverage can drastically increase your earning power, without putting you on the road to financial ruin. - psyanyde, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7I live debt free, but I had a hell of a time trying to move into an apartment. It seems I have no credit, which is better than bad credit, but not much better.
- Klinky, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6http://www.annualcreditreport.com is the legit site created by the Fair Credit Reporting Act. It entitles you to one free credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus. It's a good idea to check these when you can. You can request a report from a different company at different times, thus having a view of your credit throughout the year(e.g, Get your TransUnion report, waite four months, get your Experian report, wait 4 months, get your EquiFax report, wait 4 months get your TransUnion report, etc..).
If you do find something wrong on your report then it's best to request all of your reports as once. Chances are the errors are on the other reports as well. Clearing up one error does not rectify the error with the other bureaus.
My girlfriend recently found 21K worth of fraudulently opened credit cards, that were past due. We're currently disputing these reports with the companies that reported them. But it could take quite a while for all this to get cleared up. - Stradenko, on 10/12/2007, -3/+9Credit scores are not exclusively used to extend credit.
- n8r0n, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6So why not buy a used car for a few thousand dollars and save all the money you would have spent on car payments. Saving and investing that money will allow you to buy nicer cars down the road, without ever needing a loan.
- Homunculiheaded, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7execpt that the the agency lending you money is trying to assess the risk in this practice. You can have a great income, and be excellent at staying out of debt but still be horrible at paying back any debt you have. That's like saying that someone must be a perfect driver because they have no record of every having any sort of driving violation even though they've never actually been inside of a car.
Just because you're good and earning money, and good at saving money doesn't mean you're good at handling debt. - MrOrange49, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6@n8r0n
There are many programs out there that are not credit score driven. However all lenders look at you credit history whether it is tradition credit(credit cards, loans, etc) or non-traditional credit (ie, stuff not shown on a credit report). Your views/knowledge on manual underwrite are inaccurate. It is done often, however there must be compensating factors for example large sums of money in reserve, large down payments etcetera. And even then programs that dont look at traditional credit or your credit score are much more limited and generally carry a higher interest rate than programs that do look at your credit score/history. Its all about risk for the people lending you the money. There is credit risk involved with a person that has not established a strong credit file. period.
Trust me, this is my field, its what i do. - MrOrange49, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7@ n8r0n
That is completely insane. Never have to get a loan? Ok, yes its possible, smart? Hell no. What are you going to do when you want a home? Rent your whole life (not smart), save long enough to pay cash? not unless you make a lot of money or buy something insanely cheap. Buy the time you saved the money for a home look at all the money you threw away.
wait one more option i guess.. you could build the house as you go, buy some lumber this month, then some electrical wire the next so on and so on.
come on we are not in the 17 or 1800's where people hand built their own homes from stuff on their land. - Bi11D0, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7I love these kinds of diggs the most because it makes me realize just how many other people know about Ramsey and that I'm not the only FPU crazed person out there. I started listening to Dave Ramsey in March of 2004. My wife and I had maybe a couple hundred dollars in the bank. We both had student and car loans with 2-3 credit cards a piece and we'd only been married for maybe 6 months. In April of 04 we cut up the credit cards and started on the baby steps. In 2005 we enrolled in FPU and in the fall went and saw Dave live when he came to our hometown, Grand Rapids MI. We REALLY got even more "gazelle intense" in 2005 because we had a new goal in mind. On Saturday Oct 22nd when Dave came to the Delta Plex to do the Total Money Makeover LIVE event, it also was the day we paid off our last debt. WE WERE DEBT FREE !!! My wife and I are DINKS (dual income, no kids) and it took us 18 months to pay off alittle over $30,000 in debt. In 2006 we worked on baby step number 3, fully funding our emergency fund of 3-6 months of expenses and finally going on a honeymoon/vacation that we TOTALLY deserved. So for my wife's birthday (12/25) and Christmas present I took her on a cruise through the caribbean. We're 26/27 years old, 100% debt free, fully funded emergency fund, maxing out Roth IRA's and doing the 401K matching at work and it feels GREAT !!! I do lawn care for a living in MI and my wife is in sales. We're not rich by any means and those 18 months were awful but if you wanna be debt free it can be done. It just all depends on how bad you want it.
- Otto, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7@n8r0n: True, but you'll also never hear a millionaire tell you to live debt free. People with serious bank know how to manage debt properly.
As it is, I use my AMEX for everything I buy (which is admittedly mostly just food) and get cash back on it. Doesn't cost me a dime, since I pay it off. Okay, so the cash back is very small, it's still better than nothing and if you consider the extra time my money earns me cash from interest bearing accounts, it's even better.
There's nothing inherently wrong with debt as long as you actually think of it as borrowed money that must be repaid, at all times. - boobies, on 10/12/2007, -4/+9you can get a mortgage from a lender that does manual underwriting... they don't even look at your credit score...
subscribe to Dave Ramsey's free podcast and listen to it for 2 weeks... you'll learn a lot about how to get and stay out of debt - weizilla, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I think most places check your credit history with a credit report, not your credit score
- neoform, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7you think the military would turn someone down given it's current lack of soliders....? hah.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6this guy is getting dugg down for spam but if you want credit info, his link is really a good site.
- Homunculiheaded, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7n8ron managed debt is just a part of the any finanical process and is all about a process of calculated risks and gains. As someone mentioned before it makes more sense to buy a house with debt than it does to pay rent for 20 years and then purchase a house, because the rent is not an investment. Same goes with student loans, If 30k debt for student loans will increase your salary over 20k a year and in interest you pay on your loans over 5 years is 5k (just guesstimates here) that debt was worth it, alternatively if you had to save for even only 4 years to go to shcoolyou're not going to make up the difference you would have earned because you're not making the 20k a year you would have otherwise.
If you have a credit card and you pay it off everyone month this is a great thing because essentially the credit card company is lending you money, without interest, for 30 days.
Managed debt is part of all financial practices, heck your bank borrows money from you to pay for the loans it makes to other people (where do you think the interest on savings accounts come from?). - netdawg, on 10/12/2007, -7/+12@n8r0n
You're either naive or simple minded I'm not sure which. - TheSavageNation, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5@iamnos
Your idea is good in theory, but it hardly works. I'd rather have a paid off house and less to worry about than to try to beat the market with money borrowed from a bank. Actually, if you are so good at that, and it's so easy, why don't you borrow as much money as you can from friends, families, and banks and go invest it? There are some talented people that can do it, but most people will be better off living without the debts. - thcobbs, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5I could be wrong about this, but I think the military checks your credit score(especially for officer candidates) and so do some companies.
It can be used as a gauge on your reliability (paying bills on time, etc.) - n8r0n, on 10/12/2007, -3/+7@boobies(nice name)
Nice to see that I am not alone!
Dave Ramsey knows what he is talking about. - MrOrange49, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6@Homunculiheaded
I couldn't of said it better myself. I don't know why its so hard for people understand this.
If you have never borrowed anything how are companies suppose to be able to judge how you will do when borrow money and need to pay it back? - n8r0n, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6It is nice to see fellow diggers into Dave Ramsey as well, but it seems that those who love debt keep digging us down. Perhaps out of jelousy.
- n8r0n, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Yes many places check your credit for employment purposes, but if you do not have debt there you can easily explain this to them. Trust me, I have had to.
- n8r0n, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5@Jerkbot
There are some exceptions, a mortgage is one of them. The key is to make sure the house is within your price range, your mortgage payment should be no more than a fourth of your take home pay and it should be a fixed 15 year note.
The only debt I have right now is my mortgage. I was smart when choosing my home and mortgage, my payment is 1/8 of my take home pay and since I have no other debts I am able to pay a larger payment every month which goes directly to the principle balance. I plan on having the home paid off in about 3 more years. Which i can then choose to stay in or move to another new home and pay cash for it. - FastBu, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I don't know of any direct lenders who lend hundreds of thousands of dollars without assessing whether or not the client has any payment history. That being said, a manually underwritten loan still requires a credit score. I don't know if you own a home or have a mortgage, but it would be interesting to know where you could get one without a credit score.
- northerncomfort, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5Considering more Americans today spend more than they earn, that sort of talk isn't going to be any sort of magic solution.
- MrOrange49, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4n8r0n
we are definitely going to have to have to agree to disagree here. It's not about me making a living, and i'm definitely not against a debt free lifestyle.
As I said earlier its about knowing how to manage debt. The only point i'm trying to make is that in todays age having good credit and knowing how to manage it will help you and save you money. and to do that you have borrower money.
Tell me how a single mother making 25k a year is suppose to pay cash for a house? or imagine how hard it is for that person to save a large downpayment or how long it will take? Whereas that same person could have a couple of small credit cards buy necessities each with them and pay them off and then be able to get a great mortgage and borrower all the way up to 100% if the need be (not that i'm recommending 100% financing). for the 600-800 a month that person is paying in rent they could be owning a home, plus have another nice tax deduction.
There is a difference in living debt free and being wise about borrowing money. The fact is act some point or another 95% of the population will need to borrow money for something and having a good credit history will make it alot easier when they do.
borrower money is not bad, doing it foolishly is. there is a differnce - Jerkbot, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4@n8r0n
"There are some exceptions, a mortgage is one of them."
I agree. Therefore "debt free" is a little miss leading. It would be more accurate to say live "bad debt free". Credit cards (within reason), payday loans, loan sharks, etc... - n8r0n, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4@iamnos
By paying off my mortgage early it allows me to place more money into my investments. The money I was using to pay off my mortgage would be used to fully fund all my investment accounts. There is nothing wrong with choosing to pay off a mortgage early, a home is an investment. - juniorcosmonaut, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I actually used that freecreditreport.com monthly service for a while because i had reason to worry about identity theft and was also in the process of getting an auto loan, they charged $12.95/month to monitor your credit score - so anyways after using it for a few months without any major changes I called to cancel it and was then offered to have it for only $4.65/month, where was that offer before? They just try to keep you on the hook for as long as possible at the high rate and don't let you know you could get it cheaper unless you go to cancel it!
A-holes! - iamnos, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3@n8r0n
Not all debt is bad debt. You seem to think that everything outside of a mortgage is a "bad thing". Well, as numerous others have pointed out, student loans are generally a good debt. The thing is, debt has to be managed, and managed well.
If everyone took the advice you are offering, the housing market would crash, there'd be very few college graduates under the age of 40. Have you actually tried paying for school by working the jobs you can get while in school? I did, and was making more that most of my friends. I was still about $10,000/year shy of what schooling and associated expenses were costing me. Should I have waited ten years to go to school till I saved up enough?
Sure, buying a brand new car isn't a great financial decision, but most of us at least try to balance what we want, with what we can afford. I'm probably going to buy a next-to-new vehicle next year, and yes, I will be going into debt to buy it. However, at 0% or possibly 0.9% financing, and a budget that allows the payment while continuing to put money away every month, is not a bad thing. - MrOrange49, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4@Slacker
There are many great reasons to have "debt" but one has to understand that there is a difference in having debt and being over-extended.
I can't stress this enough, knowing how to manage debt will save you more money during the course of your life than you can imagine.
We live in a world now where borrowing money is not only almost a necessity but it is smart. But you have to be intelligent about it.
Don't max out your credit cards (try to keep the balance to limit ratio below 30%), pay your bills on-time and don't borrow for lifestyle unless you know how to manage it.
You don't need credit to get a mortgage, you can get a mortgage with out building your credit but the guy that builds his credit up will get a much better mortgage(with more mortgage options) than someone who didn't, thus saving said person with credit even more money in the long run. - biv2k, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2For those in the UK with debt - credit counseling companies typically charge a hefty amount for their services - typically 15%, and most of the lesser known companies do hideous jobs of composing financial statements. You can get credit counseling for *free* from the Consumer Credit Counselling Service http://www.cccs.co.uk/ - (Not advertising - It's a charity and I'm speaking from experience as the person who receives their offers). They do an excellent job.
- inactive, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2about this problem on this site
http://finances-business.blogspot.com/2007/10/10-l ... - Pyrogen, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2The military, law enforcement, retail, and banking industries care about 'patterns of fiscal irresponsibility." They look into your credit report and formulate their own "score," using companies like Checkpoint, to determine if you are useful or not.
- siszam, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4Living debt free is being dugg down and people think you are more likely to have your identity stolen if you don't have cards than if you do have cards? Man, this whole generation has been brainwashed by Visa, Mastercard and Amercan Express. I guess it will take another Great Depression to teach people to live within their means and spend less then they make. That's sad. It's so good to wake everyday and know you are not a slave to another. Think how rich you can be when you stop giving all your money away.
- dorthensensens, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3n8r0n, you're taking a lot of flack but I agree with you and practice the same ideology. Live below your means, pay off your highest interest debt. If that highest interest debt happens to be your mortgage, so be it.
- inactive, on 01/12/2008, -0/+1That's great find
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http://car.ej.am - fletcha, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1For Australian diggers, http://www.mycreditfile.com.au - free mailed credit report within 2 weeks, otherwise 24hr turnaround with credit card (ironic?) payment.
- howski, on 10/12/2007, -4/+5Agreed on Dave Ramsey. He's an ultra-conservative, red-state hick who loves the sound of his own voice, but his system WORKS and works QUICKLY. How quickly it works for you depends less on the amount of debt you have than it depends on how serious/intense you want to get about paying it off.
- majortom1981, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3Some employers also check your credit history when you apply for a job.
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