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You are here: Home / Blog Entries / Cranky old guy gets his credit score

Cranky old guy gets his credit score

Too much emphasis has been placed on “building our credit scores”

We spend too much time worrying about credit scores and not enough time working on saving money. I don’t believe in debt so I made the decision to stop borrowing money. My last credit card was closed in 2006 and I haven’t borrowed another dime while we are attacking the mortgage.

My credit file is thin, so my score should be low

Traditional credit scores are based on credit reports, which you can get free once a year by visiting AnnualCreditReport.com. If what we have been told is true, more credit accounts being paid on over a long period of time results in a higher score, then my extremely thin list should result in a low score.

When I got my score, I was shocked

Watch this video of a cranky old guy (me) walking through the steps to buy his credit score from MyFICO.com. My score is much different than you would expect:

Pay particular attention to how many times I am almost forced to sign up for a monthly membership. It felt like I was sitting in on a timeshare presentation.

Don’t be swayed by the propaganda

So many people repeat the mantra that we need the right mix of debt products and need to manage them wisely. This activity if folly. If you want to be rich and have good credit, even without a credit score, then

  • Pay all your bills on time
  • Don’t borrow a bunch of money
  • Use eCredable if your credit file is thin and you want qualify for the best rates on a mortgage (the only time I would consider borrowing money)

We even have all the tools necessary to live completely debt free in America (watch my on-stage performance in front of my peers). Do the right thing and build wealth, not credit.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. KeithBJr says

    October 5, 2012 at 7:19 am

    Good video Steve! I’ve never used the FICO site to get my reports. Once I learned of AnnualCreditReport.com, that’s all I’ve used & promoted. And I agree, it is funny how many times all these credit score sites say, “free, free, free” & they’re not.I do have to tell you though, The more I listen to your podcasts, read your blogs & Facebook, etc… the more I thing we may have been separated at birth. We seem to like the same things & according to my wife, & the day, I’m either Poppa Smurf or the Dwarf Grumpy (in reference to you being a  “Cranky old guy”)

  2. ontargetcoach says

    October 5, 2012 at 3:55 pm

    That was an oddly high score. Either mortgages are given priority or me thinks their reported algorithm has some kinks in it.

  3. AverageJoeMoney says

    October 5, 2012 at 4:34 pm

    Whoo who! Awesome credit score. I recommend going out and putting a big screen tv on your Best Buy credit card.

Trackbacks

  1. Podcast-Don't be fooled by the build your credit score LIE | JW's Financial Coaching-Giving you a new perspective on your money! says:
    April 1, 2013 at 4:43 am

    […] I created a vid-torial to show the readers of my blog how to get their score. In the process I discovered that FICO tries really to sign you up for a $14.95 a month credit monitoring program – really hard! It made me really cranky. Watch the video to see what I mean and you will discover, just as I did, that I have been lied to about “Building my Credit Score” http://www.moneyplansos.com/cranky-old-guy-gets-his-credit-score/ […]

  2. Pros And Cons Of Free Credit Report : Liberty Investor™ says:
    January 6, 2014 at 10:59 am

    […] Watch this video of me buying my score from MyFico. […]

  3. Can you really get by without credit - MoneyPlan SOS says:
    July 9, 2014 at 6:49 pm

    […] checked my credit score about 2 years ago. It was 769. According to FICO’s algorithm the more debts you have (and pay on time) the better your […]

  4. Can you really get by without credit - SteveStewart.me says:
    May 4, 2015 at 1:04 pm

    […] checked my credit score about 2 years ago. It was 769. According to FICO’s algorithm the more debts you have (and pay on time) the better your […]

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