Re: life without credit
 

curvy on loan wouldnt be riding after my hit and run, no bike = no work, no work = im claiming job seekers so the bank gave me to loan so i could keep my crappy jobs. so to me credit=essential.

Re: life without credit
 

I was probably not totally honest with my previous reply in this thread, as I answered in current circumstances, that I have no credit debts.

However, in years gone by I have been very nieve. I once bought a suite from DFS and they offered me three years interest free credit on it.

Fool me, says I can I take it on one year?

of course they sold it to me for the same price, I had not realised they add their interest fee to the upfront price. So I paid for 3 years interest on a 1 year deal, even worse I was prepared to pay cash and thought I was getting a bargain as I could leave the money in the building society.


Now I am embarrassing. I ask in shops what they will do for cash. Strangely many wont play ball. They want to get their commission from a credit deal

Re: life without credit
 

mum and dad are both accountants and own evory thing out right house,cars,mybike theres nothing we have that they dont own PS they dont spend a lot and are tight when it come to cash

Re: life without credit
 

I haven't had a loan since I was 17 which was a long time ago. I wised to that trap real early. Since then I have paid cash for everything that I own including my house. All of my bills are paid as I go in advance. Credit cards (personal and business) are only used as debit cards.

IMO, the only way to use credit is to make more money, not to buy stuff that depreciates.

Re: life without credit
 

spot on! this is how i try to do it but sometimes mortgages and car/bike loans are the only way to go depending on your circumstances, i had a mortgage for 18 years and was glad to see the back of it but TBH i do waste alot of money now so am looking into buying another house, as for credit cards ive only ever owned one (Salisbury's) and they took it off me because i never used it, my credit rating is prob poor because i haven't really had an active credit history.

Re: life without credit
 

Good question - I guess all the people who havent replied to this thread!

I have a mortgage and an overdraft but no loans or credit card. Used loans and credit cards throughout my 20s but they are all paid off now. Overdraft will be cleared by February too - woohoo!

Re: life without credit
 

You been waiting for moi,
loadsa credit, car bike phones telly +sofa (paid off), ex wifes bedroom furniture, 2x loans, one used to be the credit card was 13 grand. used to be about 35-40 grand come down abit now, and one loan finishes in 7 months will be a fair bit better off then, then tother finishes year after.
If i had not used credit then i would not have been able to buy my bike,even a £500 one, but we have been lucky, touch wood in that we both have jobs and all the bills get paid, and hopefully we are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, it gets too depressing to think about it at times, and hopefully we can go on holiday in 2011, is it my/our fault we are in this position?, to a certain extent yes, but i did not ask for a divorce and the bills that caused, judge won't let me sell the house so now that puts my credit rating into poo street due to ex, and if i had not taken any credit than i could not have bought my current house and would still be renting, ce la vie.

Re: life without credit
 

I have a credit card that gets paid for each month. Used like many other posters as an additional level of protection since so many transactions don't involve real cash or even face to face contact anymore.

We have a mortgage

We have a sofa from DFS so its on their 'interst free credit over four years' (I am not niave enough to think its free credit. I know its not worth what I paid!)

We have had two 10 or 12 month interest free deals with Hein Gericke - again the interest is built into the cash price I guess.

Never had a loan



Would our life be different without credit? Not much I don't think. It would mean more up-front planning for big purchases and I guess I would have to have another way to protect my current account from online fruad - such a s a savings acccount to replace the credit card.


Another thing to remember is that while it is financially sustainable should one of us fall off a bridge. I am worth a hell of a lot more dead!

Re: life without credit
 

Well, my lifestyle wouldn't be any different.

I have a credit card for emergencies and if I have to make big purchases over the internet (for the protection). However, I only buy things if I have the money in my bank already - so I pay the bill off in full every month.

The only loan I have is a student loan, but I reckon that is an acceptable debt because it was an investment in my future. I've now managed to get the job i've always wanted as a result. My next career move involves further study (3 yrs to become a clinical psychologist) but I will not need to take out a loan for it.

I bought my car outright by saving all leftover student loan money as I needed a car at the time for work purposes.

My motto is: if you dont have the money in the first place, dont buy it.

Re: life without credit
 

up to my eyeballs. No pension either. Slowly paying it off. I had a bad start getting married and having a child while still at university, now I'm divorced and the CSA are fleecing me.

I might actually get some money saved before I retire.