Add myself as auth. user to wife's card vs trying to get 2nd card right now?

[Logan]

You know what they say about good intentions. You have the best of intentions with that credit card. You will NEVER carry a balance. But then one month you do, then you pay it off the next. Then you carry a balance for a few months. Then you're completely maxed out on all your cards and don't know how you got there. Doesn't mean that WILL happen...but if you don't have a card at all, then there's no slippery slope to navigate, right? One must be careful, know what they're doing, and why. It's not good enough to say "I need this card so I can improve my credit." WHY do you need to improve your credit? To possibly get a lower insurance rate (why not check multiple companies to see if you get a lower quote first)? To buy a new car (have you thought about saving up and buying a used car instead)? To buy a house (this has a whole lot of questions you'd need to ask yourself first)?

No dman, obviously you cannot handle credit because you say "you will NEVER carry a balance. But then one month you do,.................". There are some of us who will NEVER carry a balance and we use our credit cards. There is no slippery slope for me and most likely for Amy. That's what many of you don't get.
Like Amy said, this is the rebuilding credit section. I agree there are some here that are paying interest and other things to improve their credit--I disagree with them. You should never pay interest except for a car, house or student loan. If using a credit card is a slippery slope for YOU then just skip these topics because there are many of us who want credit cards who will NOT go back into debt.
And dman, I just got a target card a couple of weeks ago because when you use it at Target you get 5% off instantly. That card will SAVE me money yet I've been criticized on this board for using cards like this. I find that unbelievable that people actually criticize some of us for SAVING money because THEY cannot handle THEIR credit.
Logan

[ValleYum]

[dman]

Yes, the insurance company will get A score, but not THE score. A person with a credit score of 600 could have a higher insurance score than a person with a credit score of 620. The score is based off the same information, but the scoring model is different. What that scoring model is, no one knows for sure.

You know what they say about good intentions. You have the best of intentions with that credit card. You will NEVER carry a balance. But then one month you do, then you pay it off the next. Then you carry a balance for a few months. Then you're completely maxed out on all your cards and don't know how you got there. Doesn't mean that WILL happen...but if you don't have a card at all, then there's no slippery slope to navigate, right? One must be careful, know what they're doing, and why. It's not good enough to say "I need this card so I can improve my credit." WHY do you need to improve your credit? To possibly get a lower insurance rate (why not check multiple companies to see if you get a lower quote first)? To buy a new car (have you thought about saving up and buying a used car instead)? To buy a house (this has a whole lot of questions you'd need to ask yourself first)?

You can view utilities as a debt if you want. They don't HAVE to be a debt though (per my bills declaring that I really should not send in a payment). And true, I could go on an electric spree (wee, 50degrees in summer, 90 in winter!), but at least for me, it'd be easier to get thousands in debt with a credit card than with my electric bill.

[Amy26]

If the insurance company pulls your credit they do get your score... my car insurance went up by 300 dollars a year just because I filed for bankruptcy. Also, I almost didn't get my top secret clearance because of my bankruptcy but my positive history after my bankruptcy saved it. And sure 300 a year may not be a lot in the grand scheme of things... but it doesn't hurt me in the slightest bit to obtain new credit, use it wisely and have my score go up. And, if I don't let the balance carry over...wow...I don't have to pay any interest either. Its a win win. I'm not in debt anymore AND I'm rebuilding my credit. I mean, I still owe 100k in student loans... so I guess I am still in debt... but I don't have any credit card debt... but yet, I have credit cards. On top of that, I can still live on a cash basis and STILL work on my credit. I really don't understand why everyone is so against that. But what works for some doesn't work for others... totally respect and understand that just want everyone to respect everyone else's opinions.

And yes, that is what I said... but it also had a context.

Why wouldn't you view those things as a debt? Those are things you use, sort of on credit, that you must pay for and if you don't pay it, they can come after you for it. Technically anything you owe money on is a debt. So, along the same logic you used... if I have the money in my bank account to pay a credit card balance, I should be fine too.

I mean using a credit card should be no different than if you paid cash... if you can't afford it, don't charge it. If people don't have the discipline to do this then yea perhaps they shouldn't use credit at all but that doesn't make credit the devil and none of us should use it. I personally think credit is stupid and agree with what tobee said earlier that you can get denied credit cause your shoes are the wrong color... but its part of our society and if you know how to use it to your advantage then it can come in handy for more than just getting a card with a high limit.

[dman]

LOL... its actually amazing how people can misinterpret something and then go off and run with it. My comment was more of a play on what is "debt" and not in the slightest about where people lived and if they were hillbillies etc...

Yeah, it is very easy to misinterpret this:

It would all be well and wonderful for us all to go live in a big corn field with no running water and a big gas stove and grow our own food and knit our own clothes... (maybe some of you do?) but that is not life (at least not the one I wanna live).

Anyways, back to the off-topic discussion...

It's good to educate yourself, to want to learn what a credit score is, what effects certain things would have on it, etc. But it's also important that people don't become a slave to their credit score. If you're living a cash lifestyle, it really doesn't matter whether you have a score of 500 or 800. Some may say...but the employment checks...and the insurance checks...they don't get your CREDIT score. Insurance companies get a different score that's supposed to assess your risk of being in an accident (so it's not as simple as, this guy with no credit is a higher risk than this other guy with a 520). For employment, same thing...if they look at your actual credit (often the checks are just to verify identity), then they're looking more for things like lots of late payments, collections, etc.; they're not looking to see if you have a good mix of credit (credit cards, charge cards, auto loan, mortgage, etc.).

And so what if you end up paying more for insurance because of your credit? Paying an extra $100/yr or so is a small price to pay to NOT pay tons of interest on a bunch of charged-up cards.

I don't view things like electric bill, phone bill, water bill, etc. as debts. As long as I have enough money in the bank to pay the bill when I get it, I'm fine. Some of my bills come with a "Don't pay, credit balance!" but I pay 'em anyways.

I'm torn about whether to get a "real" credit card again. There's times when it'd come in handy (credit cards are just better for some things than debit, like renting a car). But I started with a card that I kept paid off pretty often. Then it was a rewards card that I'd just charge up and pay off each month to earn points. Then I was in deep doo-doo (and not just from the cards, a lot was from so-called "good" debt). If I got a card again to slowly rebuild my credit...I might end up in the same situation as before. But perhaps I learned my lesson and would use the card responsibly. I know this much...if I don't try, I won't find out...and that'd be fine with me!

[dman]

that's US...LOL!!! do you live next door???

Maybe, maybe not. I may not be paranoid and put my real state in my profile...or I may have been so paranoid that I picked a state at random. Or maybe I'm SO paranoid I picked my real state, since everyone knows I'm too paranoid to do that

[Amy26]

Yeah, but the discussion veered off a bit, and then it was said (I'm paraphrasing) that a cheap house meant you were living in a backwards place with no modern conveniences. My >$25k house which is less than an hour's drive from decent size cities (and 5-10 minutes from smaller towns that still have grocery stores, restaurants, etc.) disproves that. Paved road right next to our house, all utilities, decent sized yard, etc.

LOL... its actually amazing how people can misinterpret something and then go off and run with it. My comment was more of a play on what is "debt" and not in the slightest about where people lived and if they were hillbillies etc...

I'll try again to explain, people here speak very adamantly about how all debt is bad and have even given us grief when we say we charge things on our cards and then pay it off immediately... "that's still going into debt!". And my point was utilities are "debt", rent/mortgage is debt and I was actually making reference to days when there weren't things like electricity and running water and if we could all live somewhere without ANY debt then wouldn't that be nice. I wasn't even trying to veer the conversation towards housing and what we pay and what is reasonable etc... lol.

But everyone took this as I was saying you can't live anywhere cheaply unless its in the middle of nowhere with absolutely nothing. It is lovely to know however that people are able to live cheaply a little off the beaten path and still enjoy themselves.

[tobee43]

Current house = under $20,000. 3 bedroom, 2 bath. Nearly an acre. With repairs, cost still under $25,000. Wal-Mart 30 minutes away. Big city (with three of them thar Wal-Marts) 45 minutes away. City water (and electricity, and phone, and DSL, and...). We don't grow our own food or knit our own clothes (but we do have a gas fireplace). We can live lean on $1,000/mo, $1,500/mo has us living comfortably.

No, it's not for everybody, but it sure works for us!

that's US...LOL!!! do you live next door???

[dman]

I'm living near work. If I moved somewhere where the housing is less I would also make less. This isn't really a discussion on where to live but more on reasons to rebuild credit. Getting a mortgage, Auto loan, etc. are reasons to get your credit score up and some of the critics need to realize that some people live in expensive areas and are not moving because someone thinks they're paying too much for rent or a mortgage.
Logan

Yeah, but the discussion veered off a bit, and then it was said (I'm paraphrasing) that a cheap house meant you were living in a backwards place with no modern conveniences. My >$25k house which is less than an hour's drive from decent size cities (and 5-10 minutes from smaller towns that still have grocery stores, restaurants, etc.) disproves that. Paved road right next to our house, all utilities, decent sized yard, etc.

This thread has gone so far off topic...there's no hope of it going back on topic. Might as well continue the current discussion

Sure, if you moved somewhere with cheaper housing, you may get paid less (not always...but still). How happy would you be there? How much extra money would you have left over each month? Getting a job that pays $2,000/mo less, with bills that are $2,500/mo less, is a win-win (all else equal).

And yeah, a trailer in Malibu will be expensive...but probably cheaper than a similar-sized site-built home. Both are in Malibu, both are near the same shopping, beaches, restaurants, etc. So, if you HAVE to be in Malibu, check out those really expensive trailers...probably cheaper than the house next door.

[Logan]

Nope. My main point was that you can have a decent house in a decent area and it doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg. I would bet that the majority if people that absolutely HAVE to have that $300-$500k house, would be happier with a lower-cost house and no mortgage. Not all, I grant you that.

And if you HAVE to have a house by the beach...there are LOTS of places near the beach. California doesn't have a monopoly on beaches. Now, if you have to be in Southern California for other reasons (i.e., specific job, family nearby, etc.) that is different, sure.

I'm living near work. If I moved somewhere where the housing is less I would also make less. This isn't really a discussion on where to live but more on reasons to rebuild credit. Getting a mortgage, Auto loan, etc. are reasons to get your credit score up and some of the critics need to realize that some people live in expensive areas and are not moving because someone thinks they're paying too much for rent or a mortgage.
Logan

[dman]

Not in Souther California for a house near the beach.

Nope. My main point was that you can have a decent house in a decent area and it doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg. I would bet that the majority if people that absolutely HAVE to have that $300-$500k house, would be happier with a lower-cost house and no mortgage. Not all, I grant you that.

And if you HAVE to have a house by the beach...there are LOTS of places near the beach. California doesn't have a monopoly on beaches. Now, if you have to be in Southern California for other reasons (i.e., specific job, family nearby, etc.) that is different, sure.

[Logan]

For $130,000 you can buy a "trailer" with nearly 2500 square feet, 5 bedroom, 3 bathroom, 5 acres, creek, etc. This was during housing bubble, now you can get something similar for well under $100,000.

I plan on moving to one of those touristy beach places for about a year. Under $900/mo for two bedrooms near the beach.

Not in Souther California for a house near the beach.

[dman]

I guess this thread proves everyone's situation is different. I've lived most my life in California where rents and housing are expensive and others here live in houses that I could pay cash for right now. I also have a job that affords me the higher cost of housing and this is what I'm accustomed to. If I lived in a trailer park or somewhere that I could buy a home for under 100k then I would not need a mortgage but I prefer to live near the beach and that means I will pay high rent or have a high mortgage. I can afford it but I will need a mortgage and so I will need to rebuild my credit.
Some here have suggested moving to a cheaper area but keep in mind that housing is all about supply and demand. If more people wanted to live in a trailer park then the cost of those homes would rise. There is a trailer park in Malibu, CA. Anyone want to guess the cost of one of those places?

For $130,000 you can buy a "trailer" with nearly 2500 square feet, 5 bedroom, 3 bathroom, 5 acres, creek, etc. This was during housing bubble, now you can get something similar for well under $100,000.

I plan on moving to one of those touristy beach places for about a year. Under $900/mo for two bedrooms near the beach.

[dman]

It would all be well and wonderful for us all to go live in a big corn field with no running water and a big gas stove and grow our own food and knit our own clothes... (maybe some of you do?) but that is not life (at least not the one I wanna live).

Current house = under $20,000. 3 bedroom, 2 bath. Nearly an acre. With repairs, cost still under $25,000. Wal-Mart 30 minutes away. Big city (with three of them thar Wal-Marts) 45 minutes away. City water (and electricity, and phone, and DSL, and...). We don't grow our own food or knit our own clothes (but we do have a gas fireplace). We can live lean on $1,000/mo, $1,500/mo has us living comfortably.

No, it's not for everybody, but it sure works for us!

[Logan]

I guess this thread proves everyone's situation is different. I've lived most my life in California where rents and housing are expensive and others here live in houses that I could pay cash for right now. I also have a job that affords me the higher cost of housing and this is what I'm accustomed to. If I lived in a trailer park or somewhere that I could buy a home for under 100k then I would not need a mortgage but I prefer to live near the beach and that means I will pay high rent or have a high mortgage. I can afford it but I will need a mortgage and so I will need to rebuild my credit.
Some here have suggested moving to a cheaper area but keep in mind that housing is all about supply and demand. If more people wanted to live in a trailer park then the cost of those homes would rise. There is a trailer park in Malibu, CA. Anyone want to guess the cost of one of those places?