I absolutely would. To be totally debt free and to hopefully never borrow again, it would not bother me to have a zero credit rating. A credit rating is based on debt and borrowing. If I were to pay for anything I want or need in cash (and have a cash emergency fund) I would not need to have a credit score. I would be okay with that. We are only 4 years or less away from paying off our home early and after that we are off the grid. I can't say that we will never borrow again, but it is our goal.
I've been scammed recently on a vacation rental apartment abroad, foolishly transferring a payment for a deposit. So the money is gone, my concern though is that I gave them my address and dates when we will be away. Is there a risk of being robbed while away because they have this information? Or is the scammer only interested in the money? Is there anything I should do? i am based in Europe, not sure where the scammer is based, possibly US as i was asked to make a transfer to a US based 'accountant'.
No, I wouldn't ding my credit rating to be out of debt. I racked it up & I am responsible for it. It's called personal responsibility. I was stupid and stupid hurts for a reason ! It's to teach you not to do it again hopefully.
The choice to blemish your credit score or preserve it will depend upon individual circumstances. A customized plan will need to be formulated by what stage of life an individual is currently in. For example, established adults who do not need to utilize their score on applications are in a much better position to take a hit to their credit score than someone who needs to furnish a high score for a mortgage or auto loan. I personally would preserve my credit score, as I am in a phase of my life where I need my score to leverage better rates for a new car I would like to purchase.
Taking the time to recognize the good things, celebrate the small successes, and be grateful has made a tremendous difference in my happiness. It works!
Thank you for this! I don't believe in gift-giving in the workplace, period, but I think that giving one's boss a gift is ludicrous--you are giving back money, essentially, to the person who just gave you money (granted, I've worked for very small companies for the last six out of ten years, and the last one was failing--the boss put her personal funds into the business, so it was literally *her money* with which she was paying me!).
Yes, I would take a ding to my credit score in order to be debt free.
I could rebuild my score and it would be a huge help for us to be debt free.
It would actually remove the majority of our stress.
My son is currently serving in NY, after a stint in Afghanistan. Like many of the soldiers around him, he struggles with the "real world" aspects of life, especially household finances. I've GOT to get him this book! Maybe he will be able to make some new habits if he approaches it with an Army mindset.
I have some debt now but also a good credit score, so I would be willing to "ding" it if I thought that was necessary. Thankfully that good credit also leads to lots of 0% balance transfer offers that have allowed me to keep my interest rates under control as I work to pay it all off.
I wouldn't be afraid to mess up my credit a little bit to get out of debt. I would try other ways first, but since we don't use our credit score for anything and plan to pay cash for a house down the road I would do it just to get the burden of debt eliminated.
I've been doing the following with Chase for over a decade. When I use my bank card as credit, it immediately shows up as pending in my account with the amount deducted from the balance. A couple of days later the "pending" comment is converted to "completed". There isn't any doubt what is my actual balance. When it's used as a debit, nothing shows up in my account until a couple of days later when everything is completed. My balance is unknown physically but known mentally. If I forget to keep mentally track of the actual balance, there's always the chance of accidentally overdrawing on the account and being dinged with penalty charges. This is why I use credit instead of debit; it's too easy to make a mistake. You should question the honesty, intent, laziness/ignorance (or agenda) of anyone contradicting this observation on whether the charge is pending or completed and what you're able to see.
Yes, I would ding my credit score if my debt was so big that I was unable to save for emergencies, retirement, etc. My good credit would enable me to dig a deeper whole until I could no longer fill it. The stress of being at the edge or beyond my means would be worse than a poor credit score. Credit can be rebuilt, but dinging your credit should be a one time thing to enable to get finances under control: not a financial plan
I love finance and anything dealing with saving and budgeting and would love to be a financial planner but see the only entry level jobs are for you to selltheir products for commission and I am not a fan of that.
For measuring progress, you may want to check out GoalsOnTrack, a very nicely built web app designed for tracking goals, habits, and todo lists, and supports time tracking too. It's clear, focused, easy to navigate, and most of all, really works!
Yes, I would ding my credit to be debt free. A good credit score is really useful (among some other things) primarily used to secure good interest rates on loans. If you are debt free and own the things that you might normal take out a loan for, one may not need to get into more debt.
Now. It doesn't take much to get going. Illinois has the Bright Start and Bright Direction college savings plans. I'm currently using Bright Start for my 3 boys.
I absolutely would. To be totally debt free and to hopefully never borrow again, it would not bother me to have a zero credit rating. A credit rating is based on debt and borrowing. If I were to pay for anything I want or need in cash (and have a cash emergency fund) I would not need to have a credit score. I would be okay with that. We are only 4 years or less away from paying off our home early and after that we are off the grid. I can't say that we will never borrow again, but it is our goal.
I've been scammed recently on a vacation rental apartment abroad, foolishly transferring a payment for a deposit. So the money is gone, my concern though is that I gave them my address and dates when we will be away. Is there a risk of being robbed while away because they have this information? Or is the scammer only interested in the money? Is there anything I should do? i am based in Europe, not sure where the scammer is based, possibly US as i was asked to make a transfer to a US based 'accountant'.
No, I wouldn't ding my credit rating to be out of debt. I racked it up & I am responsible for it. It's called personal responsibility. I was stupid and stupid hurts for a reason ! It's to teach you not to do it again hopefully.
I would very much like to read this book. I find I need constant reminders and encouragement to keep on my path to financial independence.
The choice to blemish your credit score or preserve it will depend upon individual circumstances. A customized plan will need to be formulated by what stage of life an individual is currently in. For example, established adults who do not need to utilize their score on applications are in a much better position to take a hit to their credit score than someone who needs to furnish a high score for a mortgage or auto loan. I personally would preserve my credit score, as I am in a phase of my life where I need my score to leverage better rates for a new car I would like to purchase.
Taking the time to recognize the good things, celebrate the small successes, and be grateful has made a tremendous difference in my happiness. It works!
Love the approach! Would welcome this read!
Thank you for this! I don't believe in gift-giving in the workplace, period, but I think that giving one's boss a gift is ludicrous--you are giving back money, essentially, to the person who just gave you money (granted, I've worked for very small companies for the last six out of ten years, and the last one was failing--the boss put her personal funds into the business, so it was literally *her money* with which she was paying me!).
Yes, I would take a ding to my credit score in order to be debt free.
I could rebuild my score and it would be a huge help for us to be debt free.
It would actually remove the majority of our stress.
My son is currently serving in NY, after a stint in Afghanistan. Like many of the soldiers around him, he struggles with the "real world" aspects of life, especially household finances. I've GOT to get him this book! Maybe he will be able to make some new habits if he approaches it with an Army mindset.
Will be a good read . Always looking for ways to improve personal finance situation.
I wouldn't do it. My credit score is important to me. And I don't have a lot of credit card debt anyway.
I have some debt now but also a good credit score, so I would be willing to "ding" it if I thought that was necessary. Thankfully that good credit also leads to lots of 0% balance transfer offers that have allowed me to keep my interest rates under control as I work to pay it all off.
I wouldn't be afraid to mess up my credit a little bit to get out of debt. I would try other ways first, but since we don't use our credit score for anything and plan to pay cash for a house down the road I would do it just to get the burden of debt eliminated.
I've been doing the following with Chase for over a decade. When I use my bank card as credit, it immediately shows up as pending in my account with the amount deducted from the balance. A couple of days later the "pending" comment is converted to "completed". There isn't any doubt what is my actual balance. When it's used as a debit, nothing shows up in my account until a couple of days later when everything is completed. My balance is unknown physically but known mentally. If I forget to keep mentally track of the actual balance, there's always the chance of accidentally overdrawing on the account and being dinged with penalty charges. This is why I use credit instead of debit; it's too easy to make a mistake. You should question the honesty, intent, laziness/ignorance (or agenda) of anyone contradicting this observation on whether the charge is pending or completed and what you're able to see.
I would ding my credit score in a heartbeat if it could mean that I could be out of debt.
Yes, I would ding my credit score if my debt was so big that I was unable to save for emergencies, retirement, etc. My good credit would enable me to dig a deeper whole until I could no longer fill it. The stress of being at the edge or beyond my means would be worse than a poor credit score. Credit can be rebuilt, but dinging your credit should be a one time thing to enable to get finances under control: not a financial plan
Would love a copy. Thanks for chance.
Interesting!
I love finance and anything dealing with saving and budgeting and would love to be a financial planner but see the only entry level jobs are for you to selltheir products for commission and I am not a fan of that.
For measuring progress, you may want to check out GoalsOnTrack, a very nicely built web app designed for tracking goals, habits, and todo lists, and supports time tracking too. It's clear, focused, easy to navigate, and most of all, really works!
Sounds interesting - a welcome read!
Yes, I would ding my credit to be debt free. A good credit score is really useful (among some other things) primarily used to secure good interest rates on loans. If you are debt free and own the things that you might normal take out a loan for, one may not need to get into more debt.
@ Jake
First off, Hooah!!!
:)
Secondly, when's the best time to start?
Now. It doesn't take much to get going. Illinois has the Bright Start and Bright Direction college savings plans. I'm currently using Bright Start for my 3 boys.
Doesn't take much to get going.
I do not think I would ding my credit to get out of debt.