Re:Debit cards are hidden financial infrastructure
by raegis on Friday November 12, 2021 @10:06PM
(#29207040)
It's a little complicated. My credit score has been consistently higher than my wife's score, and but she has never carried a credit card balance in her life. You get high credit score marks for making banks money, but not borrowing so much that they get nervous.
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Re:Debit cards are hidden financial infrastructure
by Spooky23 on Friday November 12, 2021 @11:12PM
(#29207293)
Not really, it’s all about payment history. Use your card for gas, etc is more than enough to demonstrate a pattern of on time payments.
People who don’t use credit often get penalized from a scoring perspective because they don’t have a large credit line and have a higher utilization.
The bank wants you to make payments, period. More credit lines means you have more resilience.
Re:Debit cards are hidden financial infrastructure
by leviathant on Saturday November 13, 2021 @12:00PM
(#29211256)
It's more than payment history. I avoided credit until I bought a car, and I made a point to pay my car loan off early. Seemed like a way to demonstrate that I was responsible with my money.
The month I paid off that loan, my credit score dropped precipitously.
In 2006, my wife and I bought a home, and had to get two separate loans to make it work, because our credit scores weren't great at age 26, since I generally avoided credit.
As soon as we opened those two loans, our credit scores jumped to the highest they've ever been.
That and other patterns I've watched over two decades are why I believe credit scores are entirely about how well you pay the banks' game.