How to Live Without a Credit Score
Feb 23 | 2017
In the United States, your credit score is viewed as a crucial piece of your financial information. You need a good score if you want to open a credit card or get a loan of any kind. Often, landlords and even employers will ask for your credit information. Many Americans don’t think you can get by without using credit, but is that really true?
You can have the life you want without ever having to worry about credit cards and credit scores. It might be a little more of a hassle to apply for an apartment or get a loan, but it is completely feasible.
The main thing you want to do is save money. Always set aside a portion of your paycheck for your savings account. This is a good practice for basically everyone, but you’ll need a decent savings if you want to live without credit. This isn’t just to cover monthly bills or emergency expenses. You can use your savings to prove that you can cover a loan or a car payment.
Typically, when you apply for a new apartment, you will be asked for your monthly or yearly income and maybe also your credit score. If you don’t have credit, you won’t have a credit score. This makes it hard for the landlord to determine if you are trustworthy to pay rent on time. If you’ve already rented an apartment, you can ask your previous landlord for payment history. You can show this to the new apartment complex to demonstrate that you’re good for the rent. If that doesn’t work, you might have to pay a bigger deposit. This could be as much as half or all of a month’s rent. If you have nicely-sized savings, then you should be able to cover it with little issue.
The same goes for getting a loan. If you’ve paid back previous loans on time, then show those records to the bank. This might help lower your interest rate. In combination, your savings will also help you pay down the loan much faster than the typical borrower. Additionally, taking out a small personal loan and paying it back quickly can help you build your credit without having to open a credit card.
If you’re looking to buy a house, your credit score will be a big factor. Unless you’ve saved enough to buy the house outright (which is highly unusual), you’ll probably be taking out a mortgage loan. To get the best interest rate, your down payment will need to be at least 20 percent of the cost of the house. If you can pay more than that, all the better.
Lastly, instead of charging an expensive purchase to a credit card, wait until you have enough money to cover it outright. You might not be able to get that flatscreen HD TV right away. This prevents you from paying interest on the purchase. Even if you only take a few months to pay off the credit card balance, you would still be paying hundreds of dollars more than the cost of the item. Better to keep that money in your savings.
Living without credit is completely doable, if a little annoying at times. You’ll probably need to produce extra paperwork or pay a bigger deposit if you don’t have a credit score. Even in America, you never have to open a credit card if you don’t want one.
