Can you get by without a credit card? (Dave Ramsey)

If you have a great income and few expenses (TDSR) it might be possible. Whoever is doing the deal would have to justify the lack of credit to whoever is underwriting the deal, so you need a reason for the lack of credit. What is the reason, exactly? Just don't trust banks or what?

 

If you have no credit whatsoever go to your bank and get a secured credit card and a secured loan. Basically you deposit a few hundred dollars into a savings account. The credit card then has that much as a limit. Same thing with a loan. There's no risk to the bank because they have your money already.

A credit card and a loan provide you with two different types of credit trade lines, revolving and fixed payment.

Make regular payments on both for 6 months and your credit score will be excellent. Once this happens you will be inundated with offers for other credit cards etc. so be careful.

 

Get a credit card and pay in full. If you're Asian or Jewish without rich parents, it's easy...

Or get a charge card.

 

Get a card with a gas station. Shell or Exxon or something. Use it and pay it off each month. After a few months apply for a regular Visa or MasterCard through your bank or even a Discover card. This is something your parents probably should have led you to do when you were a teen and got your first job.

 

Talk to a realtor first, some of the bigger ones have title/finance people in house. If anything a new account will raise more questions than it answers. And in a broader sense you've actually done well for yourself to consume without credit cards, no virtue in opening yourself up to that temptation.

 

Cash and carry

 

Disclaimer: I don't know how old you are.

But I'm 24, and my parents lived an hour away while I was in college. And I had to use my credit card for about 95% of every transaction while I was an undergrad, so I couldn't imagine someone only transacting in cash / personal checks.

 

But if you have a constant source of cash (tips) you can live quite well without the card.

 

Credit Cards are interesting.

On one hand, you are throwing away money by not taking advantage of CC rewards, on the other hand, you tend to spend more when you have a CC, because you don't see it.

I imagine it will be quite the struggle to have your first credit to be a mortgage with a good rate. Opening a credit card will take a while to make an impact on your credit.

 

With check cards, you don't really need checks or cash any more often.

 

Go to Churchill Mortgage. They will will loan you even with 0 credit score and base it on your income, job history, etc. Good job bro, you're doing it right

 

Do those still exist (because I agree with you)? It seems everything is associated with Visa/MC or AMEX these days.

 

Good luck to you Outlier, but I don't think you'll be getting a mortgage any time soon. Didn't you just start a new job? Also, worry about saving 25% down to put on that mortgage when the time comes. The banks will look very favorably on that alone.

 

A townhome in Houston? Where at? I ask because the way the market is right now it's not exactly easy to buy. Unless you're looking out in Katy or something. Which might make it even tougher. See if you can get a preapproval. Getting a CC wont really help you right away, it'll take awhile.

 

My parents wouldn't have covered a card and I didn't have a job for most of college; other than the meal card everything was cash and checks. I remember watching the Telecheck machines at K&G off of Meyerland. That whole switch from the late '90s to the mid '00s, when retailers just flat out stopped taking checks, was something else.