Re:Ask HN: How can a college student build credit?
by tjr on Monday June 30, 2014 @06:01PM
(#7968005)
This all makes sense. Regrettably, the Verizon salesman did not explain it to me this way, and presented it as a penalty due to my low credit score. It seemed believable, too, because it wasn't that interesting of a phone. This was in circa 2002; $100 seemed like a decent price for the phone I was trying to buy -- $600 did not.
Oh well. Thanks for your comment!
And yes, cell phone subsidies are a form of debt because you are paying back the price of the phone built into the 2 year contract. If you buy the phone upfront then you can go month to month without needing to be tied into a contract.
So my point is consistent, if you plan on living debt free, the FICO score is being given way to much attention.