Credit Cards - Intrest, Fees, and Bullshit

[Apoc]

Whatever you say. I bought a house when I was 22 and have bought at least 10 cars in my life. Please ignore any posting i make about knowing how to get a loan.

:cookie: I've had two houses, a half dozen cars and a degree in Finance. My e-penis is way bigger.

You seem unable to grasp I'm not disputing you know how to get a loan, just that you aren't doing it as cost effectively as possible.

Apoc, interesting, cause I had a credit card since I was 16, but since I never carried a balance, I never accrued any credit. I was told by multiple banks that this did not build credit, that I HAD to carry a balance for it to build any credit history. Unless 3 banks in a row were lying to me. But I saw all the reports, all of em had 1 account open for 8 years (my credit card). They wouldnt even give me a credit card for more than $500 a month......

Was the balance always zero or did you pay it off every month? If your snapshot (billing cycle) always closed with a zero balance, then it would appear you weren't using your card to them. Note having a balance on close and carrying it over to next month (and paying interest) are two very different things. Lenders also like to perpetuate this myth because they make money when you carry a balance. :wink:

FWIW, I started out with a $500 student card when I was 18, have never paid a single dollar in interest and now have a credit score of ~810 with $50k in credit availability. You absolutely do not have to carry a balance to build credit.