fico score worship?

Question

why do people worship at the alter of the almighty fico score?

why not just save up and pay for things?

You dont need a fico score for a house.
You can save up for a car in a few months with a decent pay check. if you dont have a decent pay check you dont need to be going into debt anyway.

want, want, want.

what about manual undwriting? I have heard that with manual underwriting that they dont look at your fico score and you can still get the best interest rate for a house.

Answer 1

I agree with some of the posters. But I think Spifiman said it best.

Not everyone can pay cash for a car. And just because there are people who don't make (as you put it) a "decent" pay check does not mean that they should "have" to walk the 10, 20, 30, or so, miles to get to work simply because they do not have the full price for a vehicle.

As for manual underwriting - yeah if a person wants to pay the extra expense to have that done - and it isn't cheap either.

As Spifiman stated, there are many ways that scores impact a persons life - auto insurance, being able to rent a home, getting a job, etc., etc., etc.

As for worshipping fico - no, I don't worship it, I worship GOD
I use fico as a tool to save money and my rewards cards to put free money in my pocket.

Answer 2

People don't worship the FICO score. They NEED a Fico score because most companies are requiring good credit scores for almost anything. Not everthing can be payed with cash.

I know in some states, Auto Insurance companies look at a consumers FICO score when quoting auto insurance.
That's just how it is nowdays.

But you are not alone because poor senior citizens feel the same way you do. Back in the day they didn't need credit, they got things the old fashioned way. You don't know how many seniors I talked to that couldn't finance something because of their old fashioned ways. : (

Answer 3

You're correct that there is too much debt! People see nothing wrong with making payments for every little thing, and it's completely ridiculous! Ever see the Lowe's commercial where the couple is putting rugs, paint, and other stupid little things on their credit card? Get real! I don't have a car payment because I save up my money and buy with cash. It also saves money on your insurance if it's paid for.

Houses, though, are a different story. Where I live, you cannot buy a starter home for less than $400,000. Hardly anyone could save up for that, so you need a mortgage. And you'll get a much better interest rate if you have great credit, especially now that lenders are more picky.

Overall, though, people make way too many payments and have too much debt. It's all about instant gratification and "I want, I want...." However, it gets them into trouble eventually. A lot of people are really stupid with money.

Answer 4

You are right.

But 90% of the people in this Country live their lives on credit and to get the best rates for credit cards, homes, cars, boats etc. you need a good credit score/profile.

Most people do not want to wait and save enough money to go out and pay cash for a new car or boat so they finance.

Add to this that your car insurance rates are now tied to your credit score and a lot of employers look at credit reports before they decide weather they are going to hire someone.

In this day and age a good credit score/profiel is almost required if you want to live a decent lifestyle.

Answer 5

Without a FICO score, one will die a slow and painful death by not being able to buy or sell anything.

Answer 6

because we are in a society where you are no longer an induvidual, you are a number ( a credit score)