How's your credit?
 

This may be a bit controversial, but I am very new to the whole concept of credit scoring, so we'll see what happens. I just got my FICO score today from Experian. I'll need to get a car loan next summer so I'll need to work on my credit till then, but I wanted to see how it compares with a random sampling of chiefs planet fans who are inclined to anonymously vote their range in a poll.

where is the option for

i have no credit, so fuck off :(

I have to maintain great credit or I lose my job.

Good thing you hocked Phil's truck in Mexico.......

Good FICO score = Debt! Who needs it.

Your credit FICO score ranges from 300-850 it is based on your payment history 35%, How much you owe 30% The length of your credit history 15% The type of credit you use 10% and applying for new credit 10% is based on that.

Instead of working on your credit sscore till you need a car loan, why don't you save up and pay cash for the car instead?

The average car payment in America is $378 over 63 months (source: USA Today) If instead you pay cash for your vehicles and slowly move up in car over time you will be far ahead of the finacial game and have a lot more money than your broke friends who tie up their money paying payments most of their adult life.

Remember, "The borrower is slave to the lender" Go here www.daveramsey.com to change your financial future.

If you have that kind of money laying around, then I have a better idea. Why don't you buy the car for me, so I don't have to worry about my credit?

You can get a mortgage without having a good FICO score. Car debt is waaayyy different than a mortgage also.

We are currently saving for another car, this one for my wife. You take care of your family I'll take care of mine. :)

In theory I agree with you. The reality is, I'll need a new car next summer. It doesnt have to be "new" as in 2006 model, but I need something very reliable and decent. I dont know if I'll be able to have $6,000+ banked by June. To make up for that, I plan on having a short-term loan of only 2-3 years. Taking out a 5-10 year loan for a car so that you can have small payments is stupid. I dont give a rat's ass what the payments are (within reason), as long as the interest is low and the duration of the payments are short, I care more about the dollars paid out at the end of the loan. All the extra interest you pay for 2-3 more years is money not invested or spent elsewhere. I'll seriously think about investing some extra money each month after this summer for the next 4-5 years to pay cash for the next car, though.

In other topics we are probably not far apart. I put away about $200/month (50% matched, so really $300/month) in an extremely diversified 401k with some moderate risk (at 28, I am still young enough to tolerate a lot of risk). I dont own a home or have a mortgage, I rent. I see absolutely no reason not to continue to rent as long as houses continue to be massively overpriced. Everyone is pre-programmed to buy a home as soon as they start making money, but the low price of rent is one of the best-kept secrets in America. In theory, a "fair" rent/month should be 1% of the home's value. Right now, in many places where I live, either the rent is about half the price it should be, home values are nearly twice as high as they should be, or a combination of the two. Even when you figure in the income tax deduction from paying interest, rent is a bargain right now.

Work in Credit?

mmaddog
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I could probably live on what Endelt pays in interest.

i disagee w/ alnorth, renting is just throwing money away, this houseing boom thing doesn't apply to most americans, it affects california, florida...basically retirement places w/ nice weather... by renting you loose gaining equity on your home and whatever gain in value in the home when you sell, i made 25,000 in 1 year on my house!

also don't buy cars, lease them, much lower payments, get a new car every 2 or 3 years... investing money in cars is really stupid unless you get an employee discount and sell w/ in 6 months so you save the 15% most people loose when they drive off the lot

I rent and have a car loan... BOooo...

My credit sucks, its between 630 and 670 depending on whom I check through and when I check. I'm currently trying to become debt free, which is a very long process.

Working on credit is a pain. Get someone who has to co sign for you instead, credit cards are the debil.

You are assuming that homes will appreciate significantly over the next 20-30 years. I am gambling that they wont, home prices will likely fall short-term, and rise modestly long-term.

I avoid the property taxes, maintenance costs, insurance (renter's insurance is dirt-cheap), etc by virtue of the landlord not charging me nearly enough to get a good return. The market here demands that he currently eats a lot of these costs.

In other words, I am betting that the difference between my rent and the much larger mortgage, even when figuring in the tax break, can be invested at a far better rate to at least bring me even with home ownership without the risk of a housing collapse, the permanency while working in a career that could mandate my move several times in the next 10-20 years, and the hassle.

If housing costs were much cheaper where I lived, or if the value had nowhere to go but strongly up, then I would agree that buying would make more sense.

I put in 4% of my salary into my 401k. My company only matches 25% up to 4% of salary. You're the same age as me, but you consider moderate risk as a lot of risk? I have 50% in high risk, 25% in moderate, and 25% in low. I, too, rent, but I wish I could be putting my rent payments into house payments. On my salary, I can probably afford a decent older home, but I cannot afford all of the extras (maintenance, insurance, taxes, etc). I don't see how paying half the price you should be paying for rent is helping you at all. You are not getting anything back on your money.