Various questions

serious question....why do you say "credit cards are stupid"?

credit cards, if used correctly, is a powerful tool.

Not to be cliche, but credit cards aren't stupid, a lot of people who use credit cards are stupid. Are you one of them?

yes, a college loan will help you build your credit score. make sure you make your payments on time.

Re a home, are you going to wait until you have 100,00 or 200,000?

What do you pay in rent?

Wouldn't it be wiser to be paying that amount, and working toward home ownership?

Sure, at first very little goes toward principle, but, whenever you get extra cash, you can apply it right to the principle.

How do you get good credit?

by owing someone money, i.e. a loan or a credit card, and proving that you can and do pay your debt.

Why does your credit now suck? What happened?

Make sure you make payments on a timely manner, regardless if
it is a loan, credit card payments, or car payments. This is the only
way to improve your credit rating.

The last time I checked, mine is around 840.

Actually, for a person just starting to establish his/her credit a "stupid" credit card is an excellent way to start. If you don't have a Visa or MC yet, I suggest the following: accept one of those stupid offers for a credit card with an insultingly low line of credit (e.g. $500) that you probably get offered along with the rest of your junk mail from time to time. There are a number of commercial banks that specialize in sending these offers to virtually anyone on any mailing list. Use the card for small purchases, the kind that you know you'll be able to repay on time with no hassles. If you're dilligent and conscientious about paying on time, you'll find that in about six months the issuing bank will offer to increase your line of credit. Keep it up and they'll increase it again.

A number of years ago I accepted a Providian Visa card with credit line of $500. Today my Washington Mutual (WaMu bought out Providian) Platinum Visa has a credit line in excess of $8,000.

(Buy a home for cash??? Are you certifyably insane? Who would carry a couple of hundred thou in greenbacks around with them? The same goes for buying a car for cash. The drawback in buying anything for cash on the line is that you lose all negotiating advantages if something goes wrong. If the seller already has all your money, there's no reason for him to even say 'good morning' to you. On the other hand, if you owe him and have run into an unexpected problem, he may well be willing to talk turkey. After all, he wants to get at least something out of the deal.)

BTW, htya, CJ! Whazzup?

Good to see you too, Andrew. Life is good here, hopefully for you too!

OG you will never ever ever be able to save enough money to pay cash house.
The best advice I ever got was to hop on the mortgage roundabout as soon as possible. Rent is dead money.

Save enough money for a deposit (10 - 20%) and hop in for a bank loan.

Just having a stupid credit card will increase you credit rating, you dont even have to use it..... ok maybe you need to use it once yaer or something.

Who issues the student loan? If a college/government thing your credit score will not affect the interest rate. It may affect whether you actually get a loan or not.

Bad credit reports do not go away for a very long time. Pay your bills and make your payments on time. If you cant talk to the providor as soon as possible to make an alternative arrangement. You will find most creditors are very amenable to alternative repayment plans. if you are arranging alternative repayment plans do not accept increased interest rates.

The IRS is your friend. But you must only pay the tax you absolutely have to pay and don't take their word for it get advice.

hmmmm....seem us wise old farts are all giving the same advice.

My good credit is my most important asset. At one point the ex-husband, long after we'd divorced, made a stupid attempt to involve me in a bankruptcy he was going through. THAT made me mad.

Seriously, I'd rather lose a finger or two before losing my ability to access good credit. I can live quite well without a finger, but not without good credit.

A student loan is an excellent way to build a credit report. Make sure you make all your payments on time and if possible pay a little extra - this will help your credit score. Also, get a credit card and use it. However, only charge a small percentage of the limit and make sure you pay off the balance every month - in other words do not charge more than you can afford to pay each month.

I am not sure how long it takes for your credit score to become normal; however, the most recent activity is the weighted more than prior history.

I can't imagine anyone who would be able to save to buy a house for cash - you would either have to be very rich or be an old man before you could buy one.

Credit isn't bad - just bad when you abuse it and use more than you can afford.

It doesn't matter whether you pay cash or credit to get a car you still pay the same for taxes on it.

To show proof of income, you need to show that you have a job with steady income (pay stub receipts); for other income you will need to show bank statements for proof of income.

Here is a great article about building your credit score:

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/CollegeAndFamily/MoneyInYour20s/9waysToBuildAKillerCreditScore.aspx?page=1

gracias linky

I need a cosigner for a lot of things i take it. i never knew wtf a cosigner was about but i guess it mars both records if there is a delinquency.

no wonder no one in my family would co sign anything and i just moved in with a friend. this system sucks if you dont have a family to help you. like for real for real. for really dillys. serious shizzle sticks. its retarded.

thats just like me needing my license, to buy the car, to get my license in the first godamn place. jesus christ, setup to fail, anyone?

oh yeah my credit sucks because i got laid off. and it took 3 months for unemployment to figure out wtf they were doing, by then all my bills were overdue.

oh and my job forgot how to mails checks december of last year, so it was like 4 months of late payment sor no payments.(and the icing, i get ym checks 2 hours before midnight of xmas FXCJJKC eve!!!! and i get laid off late-january!!! are u for real?

Aw man, i just had a flashback of me going to all the loan places, at first i cared about keepin my bills aid on time(but if i got the loans id be worse off anyways so its better i didnt..), after i was repeatedly forced to not pay my bills, (literally) i decided not to pay anything at all, the bank charging me 300 for a 100 overdraw didnt help either(if they didnt add charges it would have been paid!! idiots!!!!) i deposit my check every day and its in my account after midnight, 1 day they decided to put a 3 day hold on it without informing me. to put it simply, **** that ****. they can suffer, im not.

whoah, im feeling a little depressed after reliving the worst 3 months of my life.

anyways yeah im done with financial **** until i can get a well paying job.

you dont give me what i need, ill take it regardless. thats life!