Screw credit.Itu2019s the biggest scam in history.But to answer your question, the recipe for good credit is simple:Pay off your debt.Yeah, I know, itu2019s a no brainer.You can do this in two ways:1) Start with the smallest balance and pay as much as you can towards it while making minimum payments on everything else. As you pay off each card, snowball that payment into other cards.2) Start with the card with the highest interest rate. Then do the same as above.While youu2019re doing thatu2026Cut up your retail credit cards. Donu2019t use them again unless you get a kick out of paying 20% more for everything you buy.These cards are useless and the u201crewardsu201d you get arenu2019t even close to the amount of interest youu2019re paying.Keep one or two of your favorite cards and USE them. Pay them off each week/month, keeping a zero balance.I do this on Sundays. I transfer money from my checking to credit card each week. Each week is started with a zero balance.ProTip: Get a cash back reward card and pay it off each week/month. In other words, theyu2019re paying you to use the card.Lower your debt to income ratio. The lower your total debt is compared to what you bring home, the better.Donu2019t max out your cards. The lower the amount you owe on your card compared to the amount you have available, boosts your credit.IF YOUu2019RE ALREADY LATE ON PAYMENTS:Donu2019t use settlement companies. Ever.Donu2019t use consolidation companies. Ever.Donu2019t use Payday loans. Ever.Donu2019t use title loans. Ever.Warning:If you have a savings account with a credit card youu2019re late on, the bank can (and will) take whatever you have saved.If by some miracle you qualify for a consolidation loan from your bank, then make damn sure you close the other lines of creditu2026otherwise youu2019ll u201cfind yourselfu201d with double the debt you had before.Rolling credit over to a new promotional interest rate card is dangerous. If you miss one payment, it can trigger a retroactive interest penalty and suddenly you have more debt that you did before the rollover.Banks are the taxi cabs of personal finance.Extinct, expensive and bad service. Banks nickel and dime you while u201cstoringu201d your money. Youu2019re basically paying for awful service while they use your money to make money.Screw that.Use a credit union.They are owned by the members. Credit unions have competitive rates. They are usually easier to deal with. Credit unions are now everywhere.Pick a good one, treat them right, pay on time and youu2019ll never hurt for money again.Credit is a scam.You've been brainwashed to think credit is the key to financial freedom.Credit is used to enslave you. Itu2019s a trick to keep you in the debt game.Donu2019t play by the rigged rules.Take out too much, youu2019re penalized. Donu2019t use enough, youu2019re penalized. Something bad happens to you, youu2019re penalized.Know whatu2019s crazy?Iu2019ve gotten loans, cars, apartments, phones and utilities while having u201cbad creditu201d in the form of:A foreclosureLate paymentsNo paymentsAm I a bad consumer? No.In all three cases, my credit was being used as leverage to extract cash creditors had no right to.Foreclosure: The foreclosure was due to fraud and the bank, who accepted a forged signature, still tried to screw me. They wanted me to liquidate my savings and retirement just to end up broke and still have bad credit.What did I do? Nothing. I kept my money. Then I bought a sports car.Late payment: An old apartment complex moved a cleaning fee into collections because I was u201clateu201d on paying it. My badu2026I left them a sparkling clean apartment.What did I do? Got a better apartment. Told the new property if they wanted a good resident then Iu2019m ready to sign. If not, I have the money and means to go somewhere else.No payment: A medical bill was moved to collections because the insurance company and doctoru2019s office messed up the billing. But the collector wanted me to do the work of figuring out what someone else screwed up. Not. My. Job.What did I do? Got a physical. Then I told them to figure it out and never call me again.Unfortunately for the collectors, the bullying didnu2019t work because I made damn sure I was in good standing with my credit union.Bad credit? My credit union didnu2019t care. They got paid, so what?Keep in mind. Creditors use their leverage to drain the middle class of their savings.Some states have allowed creditors to place a lien on your home or garnish your wages to collect on unsecured debt. If you are unfortunate enough to live in one of these states, get rid of the debt, get rid of your bank, build up your emergency fund and move.For more info on your state, you can look here (I have no affiliation with the site and canu2019t vouch for the accuracy of the info).So how did I get my good credit back?I kept doing what I always did. I paid my credit union on time and was a good member.The funny thing about debt isu2026When I paid off my debt and started an easy budget, it felt like I had more money and more freedom than when I had no budget.Weird, right?So when you choose to live within your means, pay off your debt and build an emergency fund, youu2019ll never have to look at your credit again.And if you do want a loan, you can walk in to your credit union and get whatever you want.Why does this work?Because when in doubt, follow the golden rule.The guy with the gold rules.
