Wednesday, August 5, 2009

The Benefits of Good Credit

We tried to use our credit card the other day and were denied. We hadn't used the card in a while and since we recently re-negotiated interest rates (upon threat of cancellation) we decided to put a power lawn implement on the card (Ryobi brush trimmer is an amazing tool.)

We work on the cash system. If we don't have the money budgeted for it, we don't get it/do it. We've become quite disciplined about this. For this reason we keep forgetting the negative impact that having a card and not using it can have (how stupid is that?) so we used to have dinner once a month and pay it off...we'd forgotten about that. We want to retire someday and so being fiscally responsible is a necessity, not an option.

So, after a long discussion with the Fraud team our purchase was approved. We came home and immediately signed on to http://www.ftc.gov/credit where you can find the link to your government mandated free yearly credit report. No gimmicks, nothing to sign up for... it's real and it's your free report from the three main credit reporting agencies.

After a thorough look through our vitals we discovered something. There was nothing. Not one speck of negative for either of us, not a late payment, not a ding, nothing but a few inquiries. All those pre-approval letters you get in the mail, well...they check your credit report and numerous inquires can have a negative affect. You can opt-out of this by calling 1-888-5-OPTOUT (1-888-567-8688)

So, why were we declined? Turns out we hadn't used the card in a while. Since we lived in another state, in fact. So I can see why they wondered why someone from the E Coast was buying a weed eater in the mountain states on a card that had not been used in a year. To our point, we did change our address when we moved...but...there are some odd side effects from not incurring debt.

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