I'm pretty familiar with DR, and I think even he realizes the importance of credit, you have to have good credit when making purchases like cars or houses. Let's be honest not everyone is capable of paying cash for purchases like that, so in these instances good credit goes a long way. I can honestly say I follow DR's guidelines pretty well, but I take advantage of CC's, I never carry a balance, and I get cashback rewards, and my credit score continues to go up.


*I do agree with R8ers in the statement saying if you don't have the cash to buy it, then you don't buy it. When you start playing with fake money you can get into a world of hurt.

stop buying stupid shit you don't need.

that. not sure if you have decent credit and wanting to improve it; or if you have a lot of debt and are looking to pay off/get rid of it and improve your score.

since our foreclosure last year, we've paid off 2 credit cards, and i paid off my car last month.
this time next year, I should have my motorcycle sold, and probably another credit card gone.
by August of 2012, we shoudl only have 1 credit card left (hers); which, using all the money freed up from the other 'payments' should be paid off in 5-8 months. Looking at 100% debt free by end of 2012/early 2013.

at that point, I won't care what my credit score is. the only time I"ll pay attention to it is in probably 12 months leading up to buying anoter house in 7-10 years; on a 15 year note as R8Rrs said. then...back to not giving a F what my credit score is.


but...to answer your question; start by making your payments on time.
Get to the point where you have at least 12 months of on-time payments.
Pay attention to the amount of debt vs. credit limit on a card etc. I can’t remember the exact number, but you obviously want it low; like 20%. (that seems to ring a bell with me, but not sure)

If you’re having problems making monthly payments to your creditors, CALL THEM to see if they'll work with you. We're currently in 2 payment plans with credit card companies; they've dismissed a ton of interest and fees as long as we continue to make X payment each month for the agreed upon time. One plan lowers our interest rate incrementally as we make our way through the plan.

we spoke with several 'debt' repair places/consolidation etc...never got the impression that what they were offering was of any real benefit. Most of them stated they would take a monthly payment; pool the money and try to negotiate a lump sum payout to a creditor, then build up the money pool again/repeat etc. meanwhile, you're not making payments to any of the creditors, therefore incurring more fees - and depending on how long this goes on, it's possible to end up in a scenario where you're getting sued/garnished...even though you’re still in the ‘debt recovery program’; while the debt company has been getting all your money. Not to mention most of them had large 'fees' as part of their program etc.


The fees/interest on the unsecured stuff got so large we couldn’t afford the minimum, therefore more fees etc…
It got to the point where I told the credit companies “Look, I don’t have the money; I have $X, but I don’t have what you’re asking. If that isn’t good enough, then I’ll use it to pay someone else; you’ll get nothing. I’ll file for bankruptcy” etc.

Not long after that we got into a payment plan. It’s a little painful because of the monthly amount, but the amount they forgave in fees and interest is more than worth the temporary cash flow hit.



…sorry for the rant.
:D

I could be wrong, but I highly doubt the thread starter is looking to buy a 30 unit apt building.

pay with cash.

:clap:

Taking your mom out to dinner is out of the question, I don't care how much it costs.

I not talking about shit from Walmart. When's the last time you bought a new car with cash.

I don't buy 'new' cars, but I bought 3 vehicles last year and paid cash for them all.

Here's a little trick I'll share.

I bought 8 rental properties at different times over about 7 years that the previous owner financed 20% with a balloon payment at the end of 5 years.

When the balloon payment came due and I did not have the cash to pay it ,I would write a check on a 0% CC offer that I received. I get them almost weekly in the mail. That gave me another year or 18 months to pay it off without any interest.

My goal was always to let the tenants rent pay for the property without any cash outlay from my pocket.

THIS

That's what I was thinking. Hopefully he answers my question about what he is trying to accomplish, or this could get. Pretty silly.

I don't like the idea af debt at all, but I do have a mortgage (no other debt). I am 100% opposed to unsecured debt, as it is generally used on purchases that have, essentially, no value once purchased. I am about 99% opposed even to things like car loans. The idea of paying interest in order to purchase a rapidly depreciating assset is not a good one.

If you hadn't bought $500 pieces of crap you wouldn't have had to buy 3 :D

How else am I going to ensure that I always have at least one that runs?

LMAO