If you believe you have to build your credit score, so you have to have a credit card (and pay it off responsibly), you're not alone!
But guess what? Financial guru Anthony ONeal (who went from being homeless and $25,000 in debt to advising other people on their finances) says that's simply not the case.
"Having a credit card is a huge mistake!" Anthony tells Rachael. "I fell for the free pizza [that a bank was offering while trying to entice students to get credit cards in college], but a lot of people open credit cards because they think they need to build credit."
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But he says that simply couldn't be farther from the truth! "A credit score is nothing more than an 'I love debt' score," he says.
And that’s because your credit score is based on 5 things:
1. Debt amount
2. Debt payment history
3. Debt type
4. Debt usage
5. Likelihood of getting more debt
So yes, if you have no debt, you’ll have no credit score. But, Anthony promises, "You’ll be fine and stay out of debt that way!" Which is pretty great, right?
And if it's just that you're the kind of person who doesn't like to carry cash, "Get a debit card," says Anthony. "It does everything a credit card does, but you can’t spend beyond what you have."
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