dmention7 @ dmention7 @midwest.social Posts 0Comments 15Joined 3 wk. ago
There is a lot in this comment, and unfortunately Lemmy is not the greatest forum for in-depth, point-by-point debate; but I did want to at least let you know that I read it all and appreciate you taking the time to write a thoughtful post, even if I don't fully agree.
I do want to address this specifically though:
You could just be doing the same thing with less steps by using a Debit Card. But, the former activity boosts your credit score, and the latter activity does not… Despite both people being equally responsible.
A credit score is not, and should be construed as, a measure of responsibility (I see this line of thought a lot!) It's simply a measure of how risky it is to loan you money based on your established history of being loaned money. (You and I would probably fully agree about it being inappropriate for credit scores to be used for anything outside that scope, however!)
Fundamentally, credit is a tool. Like any tool, it can be used wisely to your benefit, or carelessly to your detriment. If you treat a credit card as though your credit line is money you did not otherwise have, then yeah you are not going to have a good time (well, not financially at least). If you treat it as a layer of insulation between your bank account and the rest of the world, well the consumer protection benefits of a credit card versus a debit card are a no-brainer. That includes things like theft, as well as an emergency expense that may take you a few days or weeks to arrange cash to fund.
Calling credit card use "going into debt" feels similar to saying that wearing a seatbelt is "tethering yourself down". Maybe literally true in some sense, but also part of responsible daily life in another sense. I mean, if I pay for my electricity bill with a credit card, surely you wouldn't tell me I was going into debt to keep my lights on?
I actually do use a local credit union for my checking and basic banking needs. They are pretty good for things like auto loans. Funnily enough though, they were my first stop when mortgage shopping, and not only were they offering over a point above market interest rates, it felt like I was the first person in a decade who had tried to apply for a mortgage with them, and they weren't sure what to do with me. So yeah, banking locally can have its perks, but it can also be hit or miss in my experience--definitely not a panacea and did not give me confidence in using them for major transactions.
I mean, "going into debt" is kind of charged language and I don't think most people would apply that to using a credit card and paying it off monthly, even if it's technically correct.
And to the second, If you had to choose between two people to lend money to today: A person who just today made the last payment on a mortgage after 30 years of on-time payments, or the identical person who finished paying off their mortgage 2 years ago and has not made a mortgage payment since, I don't think it's absurd to suggest the former is a slightly safer bet to lend money to. But again, it's effectively a rounding error in your score.
Your score might go down a bit when you pay off the loan, because those large accounts are no longer being reported as active (and therefore no longer reflecting your current record of creditworthiness). But it's generally a small amount compared to the benefit of having that positive record on your history, and definitely not enough to impact your ability to secure a new line of credit.
Don't get me wrong--there's a whole bunch of legitimate complaints about how credit scores are calculated and used, but it's also pretty simple to maintain a solid credit score without going into debt. In fact, having that available credit and not carrying a debt benefits your score.
Elon Musk is the homeopathic principle applied to leadership.
No offense, but you're misinformed.
You get a good credit score by borrowing money and paying it back faithfully, not by being perpetually in debt. I carry a mortgage but no other debt, and pay off every credit card balance before charges or interest accrue, and my credit score is solidly in the top range.
I know it's a crazy concept, but to be considered a safe person to lend money to, you have to actually borrow it sometimes and prove that you will pay it back.
This is missing a panel in the middle:
Right? This tweet feels like it should be straightforward to parse, but the only thing I've got is the whole "M&Ms are woke because they made the green one less sexy" kerfuffle from.a few years back.
Hooters being on the same team as the Bible has me scratching my head!
But that means Pac-Man is eating the burritos edge-on which is clearly insane, since he eata them in one chomp.. You might be onto something, but i don't think burrito is the answer.
Regardless of the assumption of how many people are nefarious or how actually effective TSA is, your point stands.
If they screen normally 99% of the time, then the occasional relaxing of the checks just means that the effectiveness has gone from X to 0.99*X.
TSA is security theater, but this isn't the evidence of that.
Tragically, the funding was cut in Trump's Schumer's Big Beautiful Bill.
They are concerned, but not concerned enough to risk losing reelection by going on record as being concerned.
I'm playing that game right now, but I think I need to turn up the music volume. I've heard the doom-style music ramp up during fights, but I haven't paid it much attention.
Same, except it's the Doom 2016 OST for me.
Type and compute until it's done!
What's the phase where the popcorn is gone, so you drag your finger through the salt/butter residue, then lick it off like an animal?
I agree, but at the same time, I wouldn't give up having the contrast between seasons for anything. You need that 92 degrees with 80% humidity to really appreciate the cool down after a thunderstorm. And my absolute favorite time of year is that first chilly week in September that let's you know the heat is behind you--but the frigid cold is on the way.
All things in balance and moderation...