ICANT writes:
Do you have any debt? If so you spend more than your income.
That is being overly simplistic. Credit is necessary for purchasing power and validity in a market. When the United States was born, John Adams traveled Europe begging for loans for the USA so we could establish a credit line. I believe it was the Dutch (Kingdom of the Netherlands), who finally gave us a loan.
You can have debt from a loan and not spend more than your income. In 2004 I purchased a 1994 Ford Tarus for $2800. My salary back then was $40,000 per year. I did not have $2800 on me, so I borrowed $3000 from my bank, and paid the bank back $100/month (for 3 years) till I covered the loan and the interest (in total I spent $3600 for that 3k loan). I technically was in debt but not due to spending more than my income. I was living within my means, yet I still needed to borrow money to make a purchase, and also to gain credit, so I could borrow money in the future.
crashfrog writes:
So people shouldn't take on a mortgage or student loans to pay for college? Even if doing so is likely to earn them much more money in the long run?
That makes no sense. Debt is a good thing if used appropriately - to make investments in yourself and your family that will pay for themselves and then some, in the long run. But the year that you buy a home is necessarily a year in which you've "spent more than your income". Should nobody be able to buy a home but the very rich? I can't believe you believe that, or live like that.
Word.
No shit. If this guy was in charge I would have never gone to college, or purchased the last 4 automobiles that I bought. I would have no credit, and no job. ICANT, I can’t defend that position at all.
Edited by Artemis Entreri, : copy paste failboat
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