Pay your credit card bill on time?

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Quote: I think I have read probably some of the dumbest things ever in response to your question.

LISTEN UP PEOPLE

You DON'T need a credit card.

1. You build credit by paying bills on time. For example, phone, electric, cable, etc. You even build credit for showing rent payments on time. YOU DO NOT NEED A CREDIT CARD TO ESTABLISH A CREDIT HISTORY.

2. Since you have a debit card, you can do everything you want with it instead of using a Credit Card.

3. "But you need a credit card for emergencies". Not if you plan correctly and have a contigency amount of cash set aside in one of your accounts.

4. "If you have a credit card, you get rewards". Credit card companies are in the business of making money. And because a lot of people can't pay their bills on time, and the fees associated just owning a credit card, they can afford to give cheap rewards in order to keep you slaved to them. If you are the type to pay your account on time each month, you can do this if you have a no fees credit card ... which is increasingly becoming rare to find.

The verdict. Unless you plan on using money that you don't have ... which is the only reason why one would have a credit card ... and a very dangerous game to play, DON'T own one. You will find the riches people out there are those that don't.
As long as you control yourself, you can do it either way. CC or no CC.
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Quote: I think I have read probably some of the dumbest things ever in response to your question.

LISTEN UP PEOPLE

You DON'T need a credit card.

1. You build credit by paying bills on time. For example, phone, electric, cable, etc. You even build credit for showing rent payments on time. YOU DO NOT NEED A CREDIT CARD TO ESTABLISH A CREDIT HISTORY.
Sorry, but to be honest, this is nonsense.

Your revolving credit history is a big determinant of your credit score. Your non-revolving account history is also important. What is utterly meaningless, and not reflected on any credit history or credit score, is paying your bills on time. Missing your bills can be deleterious, but your normal, day-to-day payments are not subject to any credit reporting whatsoever.

I was credit-card-free for much longer than most Americans, and thus it took me a fair amount of time to build up any credit. Two vehicle loans in good standing had very little effect on my score, because I didn't have any revolving credit history.

Again, I'm sorry if I'm being a dick by directly contradicting you, but your statement is flat wrong. I agree with the spirit of what you're saying-- that people don't inherently need (and thus shouldn't use!) credit cards. But let's be honest-- What matters is your credit score, and what affects your credit score is account history. Period. Rent, bills, etc are not an account. Which means that when you want to get that auto/home/airplane loan, having been a good little renter for fifteen years with no credit means that you have -zero- credit history, no credit score, and cannot get approved.

~Fox
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