Advise from an old farmer

[Brutus Buckeye]

Heh, I just assumed it was Brittish, when I saw the thread title. Like "realise" instead of "realize" etc. 

[CWSooner]

The best advice I ever got was to be told that to advise is a verb, and advice isn't.

So you're saying that the "from" should be dropped?

[Cincydawg]

Spend less than you make.

Pay off your credit card bills each month, or don't use them.

Borrow only to buy a house, and maybe a car.

Don't buy a car very often.  My target was ten years.

Don't buy anything that uses gasoline or eats and poops.

Be wary of old men, and more so of old women.

[MrNubbz]

Q:. What's the difference between a golf ball and a G spot?

A:. Men have been known to spend 45 minutes looking for a golf ball

[OrangeAfroMan]

Pay off your credit card bills each month, or don't use them.

This has been a nagging thing for me.
Went years and years not wanting a credit card.  Don't want to buy anything I can just pay for up front.
But your credit score is crap doing that.  Fun.  I think they should honestly change that.  If you make it to the age of 30, living independently since college without needing a credit card, your credit score should be good.
Anyway, I get one, pay it as soon as I used it, no problem, just an extra step.  Whatever.
Then I read you should have 2-3 credit cards to help your credit score.  So I do that, no problem, continue on.
But it one spring, I just got in the habit of using them for everything - didn't need to, just happened to - and racking up a bunch of bills.
Been paying them off for 2 years.  Nearly finished, but damn.  One 2-month period of drifting off mentally about it and BOOM.  It's stupid.

[Drew4UTk]

Credit rating is stupid... more about cash flow than solvency... it does demonstrate a person's responsibility, though. 

I knew a girl who had a 100 point swing on her credit report in one month... she had two credit cards and neither were maxed out, but they went from being paid every month to both carrying more than half her available credit.  I asked her what in the world she bought? Answer: something minimal and small- the answer was her available credit was $1k on one card and $800 on the other, and she went over half available credit on both... she was just establishing credit so it really whacked her. She paid both off the following month and rebounded in a couple months... to me that is insane to rate that way.

When I had a store and before I incorporated, I used two cards to purchase merchandise... both had $35k limits... I'd max them out every month and pay them off every month.  The manufacturers offered terms, and at zero for the first ten days, and then went to 6% the next ten days, and 10% the next... I effectively had somewhere around 4% for a month using the cards, and due to the card provider and not the manufacturers... this made me a preferred customer with both.. the trick was to stock only what i could sell in that window, or make high enough margin if it sat for 90+ days (double keystone or more)... and my credit score was crazy, like between 840 and 845 any given month. That was how I discovered it being all about cash flow more than anything.

[FearlessF]

Credit scores just prove what most of us have known for years

the banker will only borrow money to folks that don't need to borrow money

I use 2 of my 3 credit cards for everything I don't pay with cash - most everything but my bar tab

I get 1.5 % cashback on one, the other I get 5% cashback on some purchases

it doesn't total all that much in a year's time, but it pays for the fees on the card and a bit more

[Cincydawg]

My credit score recently took a rather large dip, apparently because I refinanced, which makes no sense.  The new balance is a good bit lower than where my first loan started.  I don't really care, it's still fine.  Their algorithms apparently are goofy, huh.

[ELA]

My credit score recently took a rather large dip, apparently because I refinanced, which makes no sense.  The new balance is a good bit lower than where my first loan started.  I don't really care, it's still fine.  Their algorithms apparently are goofy, huh.

I was going to post the same thing.  It's because there was an inquiry I'm assuming, which I've never understood why it harms it.

[Cincydawg]

My credit report said it dropped because of high credit usage.  Everything else was fine.  I refinanced.  We bought the place with a loan well over $400 K and I refinanced with a loan under $400 K, I don't get it.  I don't really care, but it's weird.  I went from an 840 to 780.  

I might refinance again if "this" lingers.

[MrNubbz]

[Cincydawg]

You do need to establish "credit" at some point to get a credit score.  I would imagine some person who never obtained a loan who went to get a home loan might struggle these days.  Maybe they would rely on your income and ignore the credit score.  Dunno.

When I bought the new car, they told me I'd get a better deal if I financed it, and the rate they offered was 1.9% which was quite appealing at the time.  So, I have a 60 month car payment.  I was glad when I reached the point of paying off the house, and had not had a car payment in decades.  I kept one minivan a very long time and was putting money aside to buy a new one, using dollar cost averaging and putting the money into a mutual fund back in the 90s.  I didn't pay much attention and one day realized I had about $18 K in the fund, enough to buy a pretty nice new minivan, and the old one was getting a bit long in the tooth (145 K miles).  If you can get out from under a car payment, keep paying the same amount or close to it and invest the money so next time you won't have one.

If you really want a new car every three years, they have an option for that of course.  Some makes with a high residual value like Porsche can make sense to lease.

The credit card thing is something that snares a lot of younger folks I think.

[FearlessF]

when I purchased the 2015 pickup, I was offered $1000 off the price if I financed with GM.

I only had to keep the loan for 12 months, so I took the $1K off and then paid the loan after 13 months.  Saved a few bucks.

didn't want to make payments for 36 months or whatever