Have no debt pay cash for everything. No children, all goes to charity.

No debt ,no problems don't live above you means always have always will

So I am just curious for those of you who have no credit cards and pay cash for everything - when you apply for insurance they pull your credit score to determine your risk factor - if you don't have credit, you don't have a credit score - so what do they use?

This post brings up a couple of other interesting questions: if someone does not have any credit cards and pays cash for everything, what would this person's FICO credit score be: 300 or 850?

If for some reason a you would need to rent a car, how would you pay for it without using a credit card; would you use your debit card instead? And if you go on vacation or have to travel for any reason, do you pay for your travel expenses with your debit card or carry a large amount of cash with you? Not trying to be sarcastic, just wondering how this works.

Schaumburger (who got her first credit card from Marshall Fields in the early 1980's because Marshall Fields was giving away a box of Frango mints when customers applied for their credit card)

That's a good question. I've been with the same insurance companies for a long time so I don't remember anything unusual happening when I first signed up. I think it was the telephone or electric company that required a letter of reference from the previous company. But there wasn't anything difficult about it. I think in one case I gave a deposit and it was returned after a year or two.

No number, no score.

I seem to remember, a long time ago, I called Key Scales Ford and they said I would be able to rent a car from them without a credit card. But, so far, I have never needed to rent a car so I have never actually done it.

For traveling, I suppose a debit card would work or possibly Travelers Checks. With Travelers Checks I would go to a bank once or twice a week to get cash and then spend the cash. However, having said that, I haven't done any traveling out of the country since I was about 20. At that time I used Travelers Checks in Mexico for a one month vacation.

Hardly anyone takes travelers checks anymore. You must not travel much, or else the places you travel allow you to make rez with your debit card. We travel a lot, and I would not ever want to secure a rez or rent a car using a debit card. Someone could clean out your bank account. With a cc you have all kinds of fraud protection; not so with your bank account/debit card. Don't see why you would eschew a cc. And why give a utility company the use of deposit $ for a year or two when you could be investing that $? That doesn't sound like you, VPL.

That's a bit of an over simplication of the no-debt theory. Sometimes it is more financially beneficial, when money is cheap, to take out debt and leave your principal invested because your return will be greater than the interest charged on the debt. Just sayin'.

CFrance - I'm in your camp on this one, but some people can't sleep at night if they have a bill to pay. I guess it all comes down to one's own comfort zone. But personally I can't imagine going through life without the excellent credit I have and the credit cards that got me there!

ditto....

carrying a mortgage you can easily afford is not an issue, over extending is a problem.

If you can handle a payment that would allow you to have a little more luxury than a cash buy, I say go for it...It could possibly be your last home so why settle...

How many people walk around with enough cash to buy a home in the villages that is exactly what they would of bought if they would have financed a little.

And it also, seems to me, that how many of the no-debt people paid off the bond? I read so much about not paying, financing it for the 30 years...Frankly I think is a bad idea... That gets you no return in the end, if you buy the home you really love.....:024:

We use American Express gift cards where ever we travel, and only use America express credit card. What ever your problem they will fix it. We carry a mortgage and buy our cars when 0% is offered. But then again I have 5 more years to work and husband has 2. Our children can fend for themselves what we have will pay for whatever debt we have and then some

Good article--- should probably be read carefully by many on this forum:wave:

We have no debt. No mortgage, no car loans, no student loans. We use credit cards but pay them off each month. It was our goal to retire debt free, and fortunately we got there.