Realistic Credit Repair

[je_reviens]

In My Opinion -- The author misses the most obvious and best answer to this question. Tell FICO and the credit card companies to KISS IT. You don't need credit cards to live, regardless of the myth constantly perpetuated in our consumerist culture. If you do, you're living beyond your means. Perhaps she did need them to survive when her husband was

Comments

[bruiseblue]

Some of us DO need to use credit cards - and have a good credit score - to live our lives - for example, I travel for work, on my credit cards, and am them reimbursed - if I had to have cash reserves for that activity, that'd be just impossible - or would take far far too long

Sorry, I cannot accept your premise as accurate

[je_reviens]

I once travelled extensively for work [2-3 weeks a month], in a job as a National Sales Manager, via reimbursement for my expenditures, and I never once used a credit card. The only exception I could see in your example, is that my boss used his travel agency to book my flights and mail me my tickets

Re: Sorry, I cannot accept your premise as accurate

[bruiseblue]

I live in Canada, where we have a national debit system (Interac), but these can't be used as credit cards. Our infrastructure is better, but it's a debit system, not a credit card system

Re: Sorry, I cannot accept your premise as accurate

[je_reviens]

Weeeelll I hate to be so argumentative

Re: Sorry, I cannot accept your premise as accurate

[bruiseblue]

Yes, living without debt - but I'd rather pay off my debts (knowing that the credit limit is there if I need it), then maintain huge debt loads while building a cash emergency fund.

Canada is far more electronic than the US - so maybe things are less credit card dependant where you are. But I just got back from my honeymoon in the US, and the hotel demanded a credit card number to book the room - the airline demanded a credit card to reserve our flight - the rest of the trip we did in cash, and the credit card is already paid off. Useing credit wisely is not a bad thing - abusing it is a whole other story.