Build & Rebuild

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One of the things I try to avoid as much as I can is to have any kind of credit. I just don’t like the feeling of owing money to anyone. This was the prime reason I tried to hold out in getting a credit card when I was still in the Philippines and Taiwan. My reasoning then was if I can’t pay for it in cash, then I won’t just buy it until I can afford it. It was less stressful like that as far as I’m concerned. Since I didn’t have any credit card I didn’t have to worry with things like credit card rebuilding or anything pertaining to credit cards. Plain and simple.

Today, I have a couple of credit cards. It turns out credit cards and credit history is a big factor where I’m at now. I don’t need credit cards to rebuild credit but I need credit cards to build my credit history. I caved in after a year of being here and got me a credit card. Why? It’s because we decided to have a house built. To do that, the bank for the mortgage would have to check my credit history [which I didn’t have] so I had to have some kind of a credit history going on. Confusing, eh? I would think that if someone wants to lend me some money, the first thing they would want to know is that I don’t owe anybody anything so I can pay them. I guess I was mistaken.

Even if I already have credit cards I try to use them sparingly. I still don’t want to be buried in any kind of debt unless it’s a must. Fortunately, that hasn’t happened. It takes willpower to do that since it’s really easy to get sucked into it. Credit card companies give you thousands of dollars worth of plastic money that you can spend anywhere and any way you want…and some people do just that. These are the same people that need help in credit rebuilding in order for them to get out of the hole. I’m trying not to be one of those people. So far, I’m succeeding. How about you?