This is weird. Do a complete audit of your credit history. I had one credit card from like 22 to 38 and my score was always over 700. It dropped once under 700 when I bought a car. Now the car is almost paid off and I own a home, so it is over 750 and has stayed up. Something else is going on with your credit. Check all the credit bureaus to figure out what is going on!

Anonymous wrote:Get your score up. Right now you score like people who buy household appliances from Rent-a-Center.

You never know what could happen in life. You may decide to stop throwing money down the toilet on rent. You may have an emergency where an easy $40k line of credit is helpful. If you’re as comfortable as you suggest and it’s really just a question of whether it’s worthwhile to get some credit and pay it off, the answer is obviously yes.

But this question is so juvenile I assume it’s a troll.

Please. It's a perfectly legitimate question.

Why are y’all feeding this troll? Someone with no money and no credit card probably doesn’t have kids either, hence no need to even be on this site.

This is a troll and y’all have been baited.

I've seen grant applications that say they will run a credit score on the applicant. I don't know what they would consider an acceptable score threshold -- maybe 700??

It’s a real racket that somebody like OP needs to incur credit to have a credit card.

What is strange in her story is she uses a debit card. I thought they were not as safe as using a credit card. And a thief can drain your account. Whereas if someone uses your credit card you are well protected. And you can also get cash back and lots of other perks.

OP why not ditch the debit card and get a points card and pay it off every month. Or pay it literally every time you make a purchase via your phone.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you want to buy a car? Lease a car? Have a utility account? Take out a loan of any kind? Get a job where they may check your credit score?

Of course it's to your advantage to have a good score. 662 is not good. It's not awful, but it's not good. If you can afford $50 a few times in interest, FFS, just do it.

You asked if it's worth it to raise your score.
We told you it is.
So.

But the answer is no to all your questions. I'm not aiming to buy a car. I live in a city. I'll never be able to buy a house - not even a one bedroom condo. I'm just trying to find a reason WHY it would be important for me to raise it. That's all.

Look. It's a good idea because it demonstrates responsibility and that have a variety of positive financial repercussions. It's also a good idea because though you don't intent to do those things, what if you chance your mind? So it's a good idea because it's a good idea. Are you just throwing a pity party and wanting to repeat over and over that you will never do XYZ? I get the feeling, but you also seems like you can do something about this, so you should. But no one's gonna make you.

This, OP. Haven't you already found in life that it is better if you hedge your bets?

It is kinda like saying that it is midnight right now so you aren't going to drink any coffee and therefore you don't need any coffee grounds in the house. However, at 8 am tomorrow morning, when it is raining cats and dogs, and you don't want to trek to Starbucks, you might feel differently.

Plan ahead even for a future you aren't imagining right now. Otherwise what you get in the future will just be a fait accompli.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That's not a great score, but if you have no debt it's because you haven't actually established that you are truly creditworthy yet.

You should absolutely get 1-2 more cards, and within the first few months incur a balance (make minimum payments!) then pay that balance off in full. Do this a few times. Use the cards on occasion.

Your score will shoot up.

But do I have any need to have a higher credit score?

Yes, you will need to be at 700 if you want to get a mortgage.

This is absolutely untrue.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Get your score up. Right now you score like people who buy household appliances from Rent-a-Center.

You never know what could happen in life. You may decide to stop throwing money down the toilet on rent. You may have an emergency where an easy $40k line of credit is helpful. If you’re as comfortable as you suggest and it’s really just a question of whether it’s worthwhile to get some credit and pay it off, the answer is obviously yes.

But this question is so juvenile I assume it’s a troll.

I’m not a troll. But I’ll always rent because I’ll never have enough money to buy.

I wouldn't have ever been able to buy a house except I inherited one (that is old and shabby and not worth much). My score is around 830, took awhile to get there though. I was very poor for many years and had medical debt in collections (much of that was ultimately written off quite a few years ago). Wells fargo and places like Penney's were always trying to get my to apply for cards, I usually refused and when I did I couldn't get one. Then at some point I qualified, and the credit limit has gone up every year. I don't make minimum payments, I pay the balance right away or at most within a couple of months (such as when used for travel and more than my monthly budget would pay for, and I want to keep my cash savings alone as much as I can). When WF offered a line of credit I took it. Costs me $25 a year and have never used but basically it increases the amount of credit that is available to me that I don't use.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That's not a great score, but if you have no debt it's because you haven't actually established that you are truly creditworthy yet.

You should absolutely get 1-2 more cards, and within the first few months incur a balance (make minimum payments!) then pay that balance off in full. Do this a few times. Use the cards on occasion.

Your score will shoot up.

But do I have any need to have a higher credit score?

Yes, you will need to be at 700 if you want to get a mortgage.

You are an idiot if you believe that.

Pull your credit reports to make sure no one else is using your social security number to open credit accounts. Owning property is not a requirement for a good credit score. The fact that you believe you can never own property because you’ll never be able to,save enough to even get a one bedroom condo indicates that you may not have good financial skills or knowledge.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have no debt and one debit card. I own no property or cars and have no plans to. Is there any reason I should try to get my credit score higher or I should try to get a credit card?

My credit score monitor says I'm dinged on credit because I don't own property.

Mine is around 800 and I don't own any property. I have a long credit history and don't owe very much on my cards. I pay on time every time. That's all it took to get this score.

OP, I cared about my credit score until I bought my place. I haven't cared since. My cars are financed for low rates through my credit union. My score is close to yours right now because of a late payment. If you aren't planning to finance anything, I wouldn't care.

A credit score of 662 will hurt you if you want to buy a house or buy a car. Otherwise, it is probably fine. It should not keep you from a job.

(my score is nearly identical to yours, but I know what to do to bring it: I own a lot to credit cards....I have the assets, and plan to pay them off; when I do, my score will jump more than 100 points.)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you want to buy a car? Lease a car? Have a utility account? Take out a loan of any kind? Get a job where they may check your credit score?

Of course it's to your advantage to have a good score. 662 is not good. It's not awful, but it's not good. If you can afford $50 a few times in interest, FFS, just do it.

You asked if it's worth it to raise your score.
We told you it is.
So.

But the answer is no to all your questions. I'm not aiming to buy a car. I live in a city. I'll never be able to buy a house - not even a one bedroom condo. I'm just trying to find a reason WHY it would be important for me to raise it. That's all.

Look. It's a good idea because it demonstrates responsibility and that have a variety of positive financial repercussions. It's also a good idea because though you don't intent to do those things, what if you chance your mind? So it's a good idea because it's a good idea. Are you just throwing a pity party and wanting to repeat over and over that you will never do XYZ? I get the feeling, but you also seems like you can do something about this, so you should. But no one's gonna make you.