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Dear Diva,

If only there was an IRA to take a 40% hit on to cash out. Don't have that source. Same with Jewerly. I have already sold guitars, guns, and everything else of value to pay the household bills.

I look at the Fico score this way. It is the pride of the middle class, the curse of the lower class, and not even bothered with by the upper class.

When it comes to credit cards, I just don't go there. I pay for things as I earn the money. I have always been that way. Borrowing money when you don't need it so you can borrow more money when (and if) you do need it does not make sence to me. All this borrowing to create a number that pays so little importance to actualy paying the money back, is interest money that could go to other places in your portfolio. When you look at the criteria that goes into the score, the number is based on what kinds of debt you go into, how often you go into debt, the level of debt, excetera. Very little weight is given to paying the debt back on time, yet most people feel that repayment is what the score means.

The one time I need to borrow is why I find myself in this position.

I hope this helps you understand why I need to look for others sources.

Thanks for your post.
Tim...

I bought a business with my own(HEL, from friends, family) half million dollars and a sellars notes of $700000.00. This is a very successfull business established in more than 40 years. Because I have to pay some of my family loan right now, I was looking only $50,000.00-$100,000.00. No one would give money. I have to be in same business under my ownership in 2 years, have to proof that my business is making lot's of money. My score is low now, beacuse I am max out. I never missed a single payment in my whole life, I don't have a single negetive item in my credit report. Only one problem I found for me-I am a honest guy.
Bank would offer me loan only when I don;t need it, to misguide them when I intentionally make my score higher to cheat them. In my past I did many successfull business. I started my first business in 1999 with $30,000.00. I buy a business, build it and sell it-I did it 3 times. Now I am in a bigger business what I did before. I took private loan with 30%-36% rate and paid them off, but not a single time bank gave me anything.

Dear Diva,

I respectfully disagree.

If an imposition of ideas or values is placed anywhere here, it is by the FICO score. This is what I mean.

Take a driving record as an example. A drivers record, is a record of the violations that they have accumulated over their years of driving. There are two ways of getting a perfect drivers record. The first is to obey every traffic law. You have to never run a red light, never speed, never have a tail light out, never have a simple lapse of control over your car. The second way to have a perfect driving record is to NEVER DRIVE. Does your insurance company care how you got such a perfect driving record? Nope!

But how do you get a good "Credit Score" the only way I know is by going into "debt." Paying bills on time is only a small part of the equation. A very small part. But people are judging you by the credit score. I tried to rent an apartment and the agent had this shock that I don't borrow money. "Not even for a car?" she asked me. She would not rent to me because my score is too low. She told me that I would have to have higher score in order to rent there. In other words, I would have to go into debt for something that I did not need, just to rent an apartment. That is where I see the imposition of an idea.

Try this as an experiment (only when you feel that you can make do without the credit cards) Stop using any and all credit cards, drive a paid for car, and pay all of your bills on time. What would happen to your credit score from Nirvana? It will go down. It will only stay high by going into more debt. The paying of the bills on time will not keep it up.

Question: What do Credit Card Companies call people who pay thier balances on time?
Answer: "Deadbeats." (you aren't earning them any money)

If you are using your airline miles on a regular basis, you are the exception, not the rule. The Airline companies themselves are the ones that say the vast majority of airline miles are not used. In fact there are charities where you can donate unused airline miles, and from what I hear they are doing well.

Use this idea of debt free. If you have a recurring monthly payment that is not an utility, then you have a debt. A car payment is a debt, a house payment is a debt. Imagine the money you will have when you do not have monthly payments.

I am in a position where a have to find other peoples money, and my curse is that I never needed to before.

Thanks for your post...
Tim...

Perhaps I should have stated that the person has taken the trouble to get a license, and then does not drive. You can't get a violation if you don't drive. If you have no violation, you have a perfect record.

But the FICO is a different story. If you do not borrow, you will not have a "GOOD" credit score. Then there is the "Catch 22" You can't get a loan if your FICO is too low, and you can't raise your FICO if you don't have a loan. The FICO is based on debt, not credit. It is a score derived from how often you go into debt, what type of debt it is. Paying back a loan or bill is only a very small part of the total score.

Frankly I don't want to borrow. I am in the unfortunate position that I must borrow. I am simply trying to avoid homelessness because I need a way of earning money, and I am the caregiver to my wife. (She had a stroke and can not take care of herself.) I am a draftsman in Georgia that can't even buy a job.

The business I am trying to get funded would allow me to do both earn a living, and take care of my wife. I want to honor all of debts. But banks only look at the FICO. A score that has no baring on character.

Your business idea is interesting. You have to ask if this business is going to be doing something different that will cause it start making payroll, or is it going to do the same things that cause it to not make payroll?

What I am wanting to do will allow me to make a great payroll. (I am not trying to buy a car, and what I need is much less than a car.)

I hope this helps...
Tim...

Lighthouse24:

Thanks for the well wishes. They are most appreciated.

To me, it just dosn't seem right that a person that got along fine without borrowing, is punished during the time they are forced to borrow. There should be a door number 3. What it would be I don't know, but there should be some place to go for funding when banks that only look at the FICO say no.

I understand that bad things happen, and up until last year I have been able to face them head on. This time I am overwhelmed. I am forced to become a business owner because I can't buy a job and I am trying not to become homeless.

The "Deadbeat" comment works this way. NO they will not tell you that you are a deadbeat. The credit card companies will tell you that you are a great customer and want to reward you with a higher limit. The higher limit is to encourage you to place more on the card until you reach a point that you can not pay it all off when it is due. They want you to carry a balance so that you will pay them interest. If you are not paying interest, they are not earning any money. Credit card companies only make money when you can not pay all on what you charge.

I hope this helps explain my attitude towards credit cards and FICO.

Tim...