I Have a Credit Score of Zero…And I Love It!

For a good laugh:

http://getting-green.blogspot.com/2007/01/i-have-credit-score-of-zeroand-i-love.html


I Have a Credit Score of Zero…And I Love It!
If you ever want to hear a good story, talk to a financial counselor. I know an individual who happens to be one and he told me the story of a woman named Beatrice. Beatrice’s father told her from a very young age that it was very important to protect her credit score. She had called my friend the financial counselor and told him that she had not eaten in two days; however she made all of the minimum payments on her credit cards. Those are some seriously screwed up priorities. Americans have been indoctrinated to worship at the altar of the FICO score, and it’s time for that to stop.

I have a credit score of zero, and I love it. A few weeks ago, I tried to pull my FICO score from Fair Isaac, and they told me that my score was so low that they could not even calculate it because I have not had any credit activity in over a year. The error message even went as far suggested the reasoning for this is that I might very well be deceased!

How did I attain this very low score? I do not borrow money, period. I have accepted that ‘no’ is an acceptable answer to my wants and that if I do not have the cash to buy for something I simply cannot afford it.

At this point many will be asking, “Don’t you need a high credit score to get a home loan, automobile loan, get a credit card or rent an apartment?” In some cases yes, but I don’t borrow money; I don’t mind explaining to the apartment manager that because I’m not deeply in debt I actually have money to make my rent checks. The only thing that a high credit score enables you to do is get deeper into debt. No one wants to be thousands of dollars in debt and in a very deep financial hole, but so many people do it because they have fallen for the myth that you need to have debt as part of your financial life.

The only way to have a high credit score is to be in debt for great amounts of money over long periods of time. This isn’t exactly a winning financial plan. The FICO score is based on your debt payment history, your amount of debt, the length of your credit history, the types of debt that you have and any new credit that you attain! As the famous financial counselor Dave Ramsey puts it, a “credit score is an I love debt score”.

Does my FICO score of zero indicate that I couldn’t repay a loan, or that I am somehow not good with money? Of course not, it indicates that I don’t owe anyone in the world and have not for a long period of time and that I actually have some money. You can keep your FICO score!

Unless this person expects to be renting the rest of their lives, they are screwed. If they were truly financially smart, they would app-o-rama, max out Cash Back, miles, points, etc. Infact, I have run into landlords that would not rent to this person because there is no history. It is a calling card about you and some would rather know their credit is there instead of saying they have cash.

Yeah, high fico score means a lot of debt ROFL. OMG, there couldn't be one responsible credit card holder out there. I agree with Beckles, the worst credit hits 200-300.

fatwallet2099 said:
The only way to have a high credit score is to be in debt for great amounts of money over long periods of time. This isn’t exactly a winning financial plan.
That is pure crap along with this whole story. I had real FICO's at 820+ before my AoR and I had zero debt showing for my whole history, Never a mortgage and last car loan was 25 years ago

Iknownothingaboutfico said: but so many people do it because they have fallen for the myth that you need to have debt as part of your financial life.

The only way to have a high credit score is to be in debt for great amounts of money over long periods of time...As the famous financial counselor Dave Ramsey puts it, a “credit score is an I love debt score”.

This guy is a retard and it obviously shows he knows nothing about credit scores. You can have an excellent credit score and have no debt. He should go back to worshipping Ramsey and Orman.

It looks as though you guys are quoting me. I didn't say any of that. You can attribute it to Matthew Paulson getting green blogspot http://getting-green.blogspot.com/.

What a weirdo

im not going to waste my time to point out all this idiots mistakes, but some of you may want to copy/paste what you said here to his blog....

then again, i am sure he is a blind follower, like most ramsey followers.

MMMmm, You tell me that when my Costco Cash Back Comes in Feb For 150.xx

CoffeeEater said: The author has to be a woman...

Being a moron has nothing to do with gender.

That blogger has an even dumber post here:

You Cannot Use Credit Cards Responsibly

He says that anyone who says they are using credit responsibly is a liar. If this guy were posting here I'd accuse him of being a troll, but since its on his own blog, I assume he's just an idiot.

This person sounds like they are 82 and they pinch thier pennys so hard they make Lincons face turn blue. Some people don't get that to make money it will take money (in essance venture capital). Denying your self the chance to screw up vs. develpoing the dicipline not to is a far weaker position. Simple mind at work on this one, not much upstairs.

I saw that. I believe it has to be a pen name aka synonym.

I think you mean a pseudonym.

ILikeDollars said: That blogger has an even dumber post here:

You Cannot Use Credit Cards Responsibly

He says that anyone who says they are using credit responsibly is a liar. If this guy were posting here I'd accuse him of being a troll, but since its on his own blog, I assume he's just an idiot.

I think the other article deserves to be posted in it's entirety too:


When it comes to credit cards, there are three types of people. There are the diggers who are just putting themselves in a hole and don’t realize what they are doing. There are those who are full of it, and make statements such as “I pay off my balance at the end of the month!” Finally, there are those who know what’s going on and stay away from the credit card game all together. I’m sure some of you who love your credit cards are going to get mad and say that I’m crazy, but that’s fine. You have a right to do stupid things with your money.

Let’s take a look at the first type of people, the diggers. They see credit cards as “free money.” They do not understand how badly compound interest is working against them, and how long it will be to pay off the balance by writing checks for only the minimum payment each month. They carelessly use their credit cards for every day purchases. Pretty much everyone can agree that these people are mishandling credit cards.

The second group of folks is where it becomes a bit more controversial. These are the people that think they are using their credit card responsibly. They pay off the balance at the end of the month and redeem their rewards points thinking that they are getting free money! These people do not understand that there is always the possibility of your payment somehow not getting to the bank (and it does happen), and you being charged a $39 late fee, and huge sums of interest.

There have also been a number of studies showing that your average purchase is anywhere from 10% to 50% higher when you are using a credit card as compared to cash. This is because it hurts to spend cash, whereas with credit cards that emotional pain of spending money does not exist. You will spend more money if you carry around a credit card as opposed to cash if you realize it or not.

Even knowing these statistics, some people will think that they can beat the system, and will take their 1% Cash Back or rewards points. These people add layers of un-necessary sophistication to their life, when cash would substitute just as well for a few dollars a month. Most rewards points are never redeemed because credit card companies make it so hard to redeem them. More often than not, it’s not worth your trouble.
The next time someone tells you that they are using their credit card responsibly, they are lying. They have accepted debt as a way of life, and because of that, they will always be in bondage to a bank, a financing company, or a mortgage company. Use your credit card responsibly by putting it in the blender.

After getting blasted in the comments section the author replies with:

Hmmm ... this is the dark side to the power of the internet. You can become very popular, or very unpopular, really quickly.

One of my more popular posts on my blog attacked some ideas in a book pretty harshly. But one thing I didn't do was attack people, or at least I tried not to. I think this was the mistake that was made in the post. It's probably evident, but I thought I'd point it out anyway.

The thing is I tend to agree that it's very, very difficult to use credit cards the same way you use cash just because it's so easy to swipe a credit card. So, looking past the personal attacks, I'll be more aware of that point.


So he thinks it's just because of his "personal attacks" that people don't take him seriously

Even talking about a late fee she can be off. I was once 2 days late with a MBNA CC I lost the bill and forgot about it. I called them up paid in full and asked that they credit me the late fee which they did. I'm guessing she was burned by CC recently and has residual anger towards them.

Colecovision said:
So he thinks it's just because of his "personal attacks" that people don't take him seriously
well, people continue to show up and screech like banshees on American Idol and then cry that the judges didn't appreciate them...

He's checked his referrer logs and has a post pointing to this thread now.

Colecovision sai: [Q= said: ILikeDollars]That blogger has an even dumber post here:

You Cannot Use Credit Cards Responsibly


The next time someone tells you that they are using their credit card responsibly, they are lying. They have accepted debt as a way of life, and because of that, they will always be in bondage to a bank, a financing company, or a mortgage company. Use your credit card responsibly by putting it in the blender.

Just by the way this idiot worded his blog, I can tell he is a blind follower of Dave Ramsey, always trying to mix in religious-sounding language
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Yep, a cult of the same kind that show up at Jonestown. Kinda sad. Probably couldn't even convince the dude that there's actually smart ways to use credit, because he's not been able to do it himself.

DamnoIT said: This person sounds like they are 82 and they pinch thier pennys so hard they make Lincons face turn blue.

Sorry, you can't do that without having a rebate card. Not having a rebate card = voluntarily paying more than you have to. Voluntarily paying more than you have to = not being cheap.

CoffeeEater said: The author has to be a woman...
And you must be some kind of subhuman rat to author that gem of a comment

i feel i understand the writer's feelings. It was years before i would have a checking account because of the couple bucks in fees they charged. Credit cards were an anathema to me and debt was evil and the opponent. Slowly started changing my mind when i needed to rent a car, had a pocket full of cash, offered the rental company $1000 cash security, and was refused. It still baffles me that a check or a VISA card trumps cash, but that's beside the point. Given the choice between self deprivation and meeting my obligations i would and have chosen to meet my obligations. To my mind a minmum payment is just that: the minimum i'm obligated to pay. While no-credit thinking might have slowed down our property aquisition it by no means doomed us to a life unable to buy or rent. I still feel that credit cards are a leech on the productive economy - the 3-5% drag they impose provides no food or clothing or anything else physical - it simply makes things more expensive. The fact that we can take advantge of the card offers does not mean that credit cards are good for the world. While i currently am using a 1 1/4% Cash Back PenFed card instead of our 1% Chase card and both have and am making property loans i don't feel that the writer is stupid for living his/her life as s/he sees fit, any more than i feel a vegan eating a plate of fresh lawn is stupid for living their choices as i eat my steak. Give 'em props for living with hardship in support of their opinions.

s0ssos said: RushnRockt said: GTFan said: Stop trolling, please. I could easily live on 25% of a $100k salary. Once your house is paid off, it's not hard to live on a little more than $1k a month (assuming taxes eat up 40% or so of that $25k gross, but 40% is on the high side. My guess would be that something in the 20s on your tax return is closer to the truth in the average state).

He will now start changing the conditions for the 25%, first its net income, then its net income and you have to count the rent/mortgage, next he will demand that you also account for having a mistress and illegitimate child you pay for on the side... This guy has not been able to stick through with any of his statements without falling onto a slippery slope of eternal changes just to make his beliefs fit. Just read how he got $10k to equal $13k.

did you know there are people who actually live on *gasp* $20k a year, pretax?
some of those people even have families of greater than one?

it's surprising, isn't it?

I make less than $40K GROSS with 4 kids and wife...who stays home to watch said kids.

The power of FW.