I Don't Want Any Credit Cards!

[BankruptinNJ]

Logan:

This storm was very bad in New Jersey. Our building has a backup generator but only to keep the lights on in the hallways. We were without electricity from Saturday to Thursday. Everybody in our building lost the food in their refrigerators.

[BankruptinNJ]

I'm concerned that you are a year out of BK and it sounds like you still don't have a handle on your finances. Is it really because you are a shopaholic or is the income just not there to support you?

My income is very, very low. Fortunately my rent is also very low, and I don't anybody any money. Life is so much simpler now. I only have to pay my share of the rent and electric bill, and my boyfriend pays his share of the rent and the internet/cable bill. I don't have a car. Life is much easier without worrying about bills. As a matter of fact, the state just helped me pay for three months of the electric bill! I don't shop like a crazy woman anymore -- because I don't have a credit card I CAN'T.

When I think of where I was just four years ago, loaded with debt, living in an apartment that I couldn't afford, and that apartment had rodents and no hot water, my mother living with me who had Alzheimer's, and a backbreaking soul-destroying job -- I am much better off even though I make less money. My mother is in a beautiful nursing home with 24/7 care which would cost $100,000/year but she is on Medicaid and only pays her social security for it. The last few years have been difficult but I'm learning what is really important in life.

[Logan]

I'm not understanding this. Why would you not need your driveway plowed after a huge snowstorm? How was he taking advantage?

Besides the fact that I got home at 1 am and left tracks showing the pavement and that the forecast was back into the high 50's the next day. I pay for snowplowing to keep my driveway manageable over the winter not for 1 freak snowstorm in October that melts the snow in 24 hours.
On top of that noone had their snow markers out so the guy went off the driveway and damaged the lawn which doesn't happen in the winter when the ground is frozen.

[Logan]

5% off for using your Target card is not worth it. They charge huge interest rates. I'd rather build my credit with a secured card with better interest rates. Of course the interest rate doesn't matter as long as you pay if off in full each month, which we all should be doing.

Really mountanddo? Where did I say I would be paying a dime of interest? Who doesn't think it's not smart to save 5%?

Logan

[mountanddo]

I got hit by the same snowstorm but we have a generator since this happens where I live every year.
Certainly cost alot of people money. The guy who snowplows my driveway actually showed up--I was pissed because it cost me $25 for a plow I didn't need. He was just out taking advantage of all of his customers.

I'm not understanding this. Why would you not need your driveway plowed after a huge snowstorm? How was he taking advantage?

[mountanddo]

The only way they run all over you and hold you hostage is if you don't pay them. There is absolutely noting wrong with using credit cards. I repeat, there is absolutely nothing wrong with using credit cards.

PS...I just went shopping at Target for some Christmas gifts and got 5% off for using my Target credit card.

5% off for using your Target card is not worth it. They charge huge interest rates. I'd rather build my credit with a secured card with better interest rates. Of course the interest rate doesn't matter as long as you pay if off in full each month, which we all should be doing.

[Logan]

My problem is that I'm a severe shopaholic. So no credit cards for me until I can control myself. I'm working on it. I'm really not interested in "building" my credit right now. I'd rather save my money in a savings account.

Unfortunately the part in my first post about not eating out during the entire month of November didn't work out. After the freak October snowstorm we were without power for almost a week. I've never seen so many trees destroyed (many of them are still on streets waiting for pickup).

All of the food in our fridge was ruined and we couldn't cook anything anyway with no electricity. We did try to survive on granola bars, but eventually we had to eat out until we got the electricity back. I don't want to eat another granola bar for a long time. We also had to restock the fridge so there went all the money in the "piggy bank" (see my first post in this thread).

But I guess that it proves that you do need to save money for that rainy day -- or freak snowstorms!

I got hit by the same snowstorm but we have a generator since this happens where I live every year.
Certainly cost alot of people money. The guy who snowplows my driveway actually showed up--I was pissed because it cost me $25 for a plow I didn't need. He was just out taking advantage of all of his customers.

[Logan]

Preferably you don't. I haven't. Time heals your score, you don't need a credit card to do that. I figure letting them run over me and hold me hostage once in my life was enough. There are other ways to improve your score and show credit worthiness. Sadly, it's a necessary evil in this world to have a stupid FICO score if you want to buy a house, so I do understand the need to work on it. If only banks had enough common sense to look at what you own, not what you owe.

The only way they run all over you and hold you hostage is if you don't pay them. There is absolutely noting wrong with using credit cards. I repeat, there is absolutely nothing wrong with using credit cards.

PS...I just went shopping at Target for some Christmas gifts and got 5% off for using my Target credit card.

[mountanddo]

My problem is that I'm a severe shopaholic. So no credit cards for me until I can control myself. I'm working on it. I'm really not interested in "building" my credit right now. I'd rather save my money in a savings account.

Unfortunately the part in my first post about not eating out during the entire month of November didn't work out. After the freak October snowstorm we were without power for almost a week. I've never seen so many trees destroyed (many of them are still on streets waiting for pickup).

All of the food in our fridge was ruined and we couldn't cook anything anyway with no electricity. We did try to survive on granola bars, but eventually we had to eat out until we got the electricity back. I don't want to eat another granola bar for a long time. We also had to restock the fridge so there went all the money in the "piggy bank" (see my first post in this thread).

But I guess that it proves that you do need to save money for that rainy day -- or freak snowstorms!

I'm concerned that you are a year out of BK and it sounds like you still don't have a handle on your finances. Is it really because you are a shopaholic or is the income just not there to support you?

[BankruptinNJ]

It is NOT possible to achieve the highest score without any credit card. You don't need a CC to rebuild your credit - that is true. But once you want to achieve the highest score, the system leaves you no choice. Without a CC, an important part (about 30%) of your score is missing.

The "feeding the bank" theories aren't 100% accurate, either. You can obtain a secured card with a $200-balance from your local CU and pay it off every month. I have my doubts that this will be expensive and since it's secured, you are no "slave". If you know how the scoring-system works, you can take full advantage of it. That's why a $200 limit is just as good as a $20,000 limit. Some think "the higher, the better for my score" - but they are simply wrong.

I know for sure that I prefer a small, secured CC over a higher rate on - let's say - my car-insurance. To me, it doesn't make a difference if I'm getting robbed by a bank or by an insurance. What I can do, however, is do my best that I don't lose more money than necessary. And that's why you need a CC in the long run. That's America and that's the system. You either stick to the rules or are penalized - one way or the other.

My problem is that I'm a severe shopaholic. So no credit cards for me until I can control myself. I'm working on it. I'm really not interested in "building" my credit right now. I'd rather save my money in a savings account.

Unfortunately the part in my first post about not eating out during the entire month of November didn't work out. After the freak October snowstorm we were without power for almost a week. I've never seen so many trees destroyed (many of them are still on streets waiting for pickup).

All of the food in our fridge was ruined and we couldn't cook anything anyway with no electricity. We did try to survive on granola bars, but eventually we had to eat out until we got the electricity back. I don't want to eat another granola bar for a long time. We also had to restock the fridge so there went all the money in the "piggy bank" (see my first post in this thread).

But I guess that it proves that you do need to save money for that rainy day -- or freak snowstorms!

[IBroke]

It is NOT possible to achieve the highest score without any credit card. You don't need a CC to rebuild your credit - that is true. But once you want to achieve the highest score, the system leaves you no choice. Without a CC, an important part (about 30%) of your score is missing.

The "feeding the bank" theories aren't 100% accurate, either. You can obtain a secured card with a $200-balance from your local CU and pay it off every month. I have my doubts that this will be expensive and since it's secured, you are no "slave". If you know how the scoring-system works, you can take full advantage of it. That's why a $200 limit is just as good as a $20,000 limit. Some think "the higher, the better for my score" - but they are simply wrong.

I know for sure that I prefer a small, secured CC over a higher rate on - let's say - my car-insurance. To me, it doesn't make a difference if I'm getting robbed by a bank or by an insurance. What I can do, however, is do my best that I don't lose more money than necessary. And that's why you need a CC in the long run. That's America and that's the system. You either stick to the rules or are penalized - one way or the other.

[LSUTiger32]

So how do you rebuild your credit without one?

Preferably you don't. I haven't. Time heals your score, you don't need a credit card to do that. I figure letting them run over me and hold me hostage once in my life was enough. There are other ways to improve your score and show credit worthiness. Sadly, it's a necessary evil in this world to have a stupid FICO score if you want to buy a house, so I do understand the need to work on it. If only banks had enough common sense to look at what you own, not what you owe.

[BankruptinNJ]

So how do you rebuild your credit without one?

Right now I'm not really trying to rebuild my credit. I'm just waiting for some of the old junk to fall off my credit report. I have at least 20 negative items on my report (the original creditors plus the collection agencies plus a judgment plus the bankruptcy). According to TransUnion, at least nine items will have fallen off in three years. I'm sick of seeing a credit report with so many pages! I was crazed while I was shopping away a few years ago. I needed a shopping intervention.

If you're trying to "rebuild" your credit, however, you might have to go in a different direction. I'm just curious to see what happens to my credit score without doing anything. I will probably get a secured card in a couple of years. I don't trust myself with a regular card. I do want to rebuild my credit eventually, just not now.

[BankruptinNJ]

Good job! Two years post discharge here and no card wanted or obtained. My credit score (approaching 700 now) is doing just fine without one. Don't let people tell you that you need one, cause you don't.

I'm just so afraid that I'll go haywire with shopping again. Also, my current income is very low (I'm trying to start a new business).

My only problem in my above post was about not eating out during November and putting that money in a piggy bank. After that freak snowstorm last Saturday, we were without electricity for several days. All the food in the fridge had to be thrown out We had no choice but to eat out for a few days until the electricity came back on. We did buy some non-perishables, but got rather sick of eating granola bars and things like that! Thankfully, things are back to normal and we are slowly replenishing our food in our fridge. At least we got the fridge defrosted!

[mountanddo]

Good job! Two years post discharge here and no card wanted or obtained. My credit score (approaching 700 now) is doing just fine without one. Don't let people tell you that you need one, cause you don't.

So how do you rebuild your credit without one?