Credit Cards - Intrest, Fees, and Bullshit

[D_Eclipse9916]

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, have never paid a single dollar in interest and now have a credit score of ~810 with $50k in credit availability.

I paid it off at the end of every month, I know the difference :wink: . Do not know why it didnt help my credit but helped yours, I really did not study much about "credit" because I never cared which was shortsighted. I refuse to buy anything that I can not pay in cash. A mortgage it does not make sense (nor realistic most of the time) as you get huge tax deduction from it. Adjust for inflation and a low mortgage rate almost works for you.

I am not saying you are wrong, I am just saying my experience. I use my credit card for everything, including .88 cent slurpees in high school as I track how much I spend on certain expenditures such as food, entertainment etc. So its never been a problem having a balance, just I pay it off every month, and according to my loan officers that was a bad move. They may be wrong as well if you know specifically how the credit companies build it over what they know (or are telling me), but I am trying to portray, that those dont built credit, and that really...you can get past not having much credit history if you have a decent down payment and shop around.