Anyone have any experience or ideas to fix my own credit?

[mesmith31]

Originally Posted by Bugeater

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

I already gave him a strategy for repairing his credit, but the argument that everything should be purchased for cash always is fine, but highly limiting. Being debt free is a great goal and more of America should strive for it. If you want grow wealth you either have to save until you can buy assets or prudently use leverage to acquire them and then pay them off if it makes sense.

Even if you can pay something off entirely it doesn't always make financial sense to do so. If you have $150,000 in the bank that you could use to pay off your mortgage and your interest rate is 4.5% and you could invest that money elsewhere it may make sense to hold on to your cash.

"Don't pay it down until you can pay it off". If you give the money to your mortgage company as opposed to setting it aside, they won't give it back to you if you get in a pinch. And if better opportunity comes along, you also aren't liquid.