@MidnightRider @SECRET_ASIAN_MAN @InvaderGzim @CanisPundit I've been using a Karma(?) based credit checker (lol) and they're pretty good about proferring a reasonable explanation for score changes

@Avidspark @SECRET_ASIAN_MAN @InvaderGzim @CanisPundit Explain this: Complain to Citibank, make my position known. Score rebounds after Citibank says they have no dog in the fight. That's happened twice now. Since the number is sufficiently high, I abandoned the war, I need less stress not more.

@MidnightRider @SECRET_ASIAN_MAN @InvaderGzim @CanisPundit That I cannot do, explanations of the algorithm used for credit scoring is much more complex than the calculus I took in college 🤣

@Avidspark @SECRET_ASIAN_MAN @InvaderGzim @CanisPundit I had a major epiphany on holiday. I'm not going to war over small stuff. By the numbers I'm near my exit day from the funhouse ride anyhow.

@MidnightRider @Avidspark @SECRET_ASIAN_MAN @InvaderGzim @CanisPundit The biggest revelation I ever had was to never, ever close an account. That reduces your available lines of credit which in turn lowers your score. So if you are trying to pay down debt and your plan is to close the account once it's done and empty, don't. And don't let them close your accounts due to "lack of activity". The whole system is rotten and set up to keep us all in debt.

@danielbsmith @Avidspark @SECRET_ASIAN_MAN @InvaderGzim @CanisPundit Kept it open, spend on it at Costco and pay both cards to zero monthly. They can say what they want, they hate good stewards of finance.

@danielbsmith @MidnightRider @Avidspark @InvaderGzim @CanisPundit I was with you until your last statement. I don't see the system as rotten. It all makes sense to me.

@SECRET_ASIAN_MAN @MidnightRider @Avidspark @InvaderGzim @CanisPundit We are penalized when an account in good standing is closed. For example: a credit card that has been paid down.

Closing an account shouldn't be a penalty but it is. Once closed that account's line-of-credit is no longer included in the credit score calculation. The now lower line-of-credit results in a higher debt-to-income ratio so the credit score drops as a result.

E.g. the system encourages debt not saving.

@danielbsmith @MidnightRider @Avidspark @InvaderGzim @CanisPundit

I disagree.

The system rewards taking on debt and paying it off.

Example only.

$10K is bad debt on a credit line of $10K. But on a credit line of $100K, it's a good thing. AND, there's only one way to get a credit line that high. Rack up debt and pay it off.

Too many fall into the trap of not being able to pay it off though.

@SECRET_ASIAN_MAN @danielbsmith @Avidspark @InvaderGzim @CanisPundit At one point or another in life you stop "racking up debt" in retirement. Being retired with a mortgage would be incredibly stressful IMO.

@MidnightRider @danielbsmith @Avidspark @InvaderGzim @CanisPundit Agreed, we plan on paying cash for our next/last house and being done with it.

Still thinking about a place in Tuscany though.

@SECRET_ASIAN_MAN @danielbsmith @Avidspark @InvaderGzim @CanisPundit It's hard to know what to do in a finite life with an unknown expiration date we merely glance at through spread fingers. I'm fortunate to have options to consider but a shorter time to think about them.

@SECRET_ASIAN_MAN @danielbsmith @Avidspark @InvaderGzim @CanisPundit Tuscany would be sweet. I would like a travel club of honest time shares or hotel opportunities, but I have not seen one that made sense over just choosing my own travel.

@SECRET_ASIAN_MAN @MidnightRider @Avidspark @InvaderGzim @CanisPundit The first example is 100% debt but the second (90k of credit - 10k of debt) adds 80% credit.

I understand what you're saying. This is the system we have so we should use it and there are certainly benefits. I'm just trying to point out that the overall system seems to encourage staying in debt.

Or maybe I just like keeping my finances tidy and I can't without incurring a penalty.

@Avidspark @SECRET_ASIAN_MAN @InvaderGzim @CanisPundit IMO debt load, payment history and assets should be the only metric. If you make 2 million a year and spend 3 you're still in big trouble. These companies hate zero balance each month, they want us to spend more than we should, it's insidious and silly to pursue a number of approval.

@MidnightRider @Avidspark @InvaderGzim @CanisPundit

I'm not on board with the confusion of the credit score. The changes up and down all made sense to me.

The power of the credit score shows up in many places. Most recently when we bought my wife's electric BMW. The salesman said, "With your score, do you wanna buy two?"

I despise paying interest instead of earning it...so yeah, the better the score (band) the lower the interest.

@SECRET_ASIAN_MAN @Avidspark @InvaderGzim @CanisPundit All true, but at some point, it's a "measuring contest". I'd ask Captain Beemer if he had the deeds to 2 homes in his safe.

@MidnightRider @Avidspark @InvaderGzim @CanisPundit I think he did, he was like salesman of the year for multiple years. 🙂

@SECRET_ASIAN_MAN @Avidspark @InvaderGzim @CanisPundit Again, making money and building wealth are not necessarily linked.

@SECRET_ASIAN_MAN @Avidspark @InvaderGzim @CanisPundit My final manager: I need a raise. Me: "use the full force of the company 401K match". Her: " No I want to make money I can spend".

@MidnightRider @Avidspark @InvaderGzim @CanisPundit we're at the age where the point of ANY pay raise is to keep stuffing retirement and funding things like the HSA.

I don't have any issues with our American finance systems. I do have issues with how any wealth that gets built gets drained or ROBBED by our healthcare systems. So obviously if you've been following me you know...so much of what I post about regarding #HealthIsWealth is to avoid getting robbed in later years.

@SECRET_ASIAN_MAN @Avidspark @InvaderGzim @CanisPundit Yes. And if you follow me you know the best plans of a human are always subject to the trickster of fate. Even a king has to face the reality of cancer.

@MidnightRider @Avidspark @InvaderGzim @CanisPundit

Stipulated, but also scene below.

Content warning on this movie though...this is where the line "Isn't Russia our friend?" was also uttered. 😂

@SECRET_ASIAN_MAN @Avidspark @InvaderGzim @CanisPundit There's plenty of fate made by fate. My dad was blown up. The true mind bender is the good fortune that often arises from a devastating event, often overlooked or never seen. The kind of fortitude and wisdom that made Micheal J Fox say his illness was a gift.

@MidnightRider @SECRET_ASIAN_MAN @Avidspark @InvaderGzim adversity can be a character builder. One of the best things we can tell a kid is “no” when appropriate. The world is waiting to tell them “no” and learning to cope with rejection is a life skill. Sorry for that horrible way to lose a loved one.

@CanisPundit @SECRET_ASIAN_MAN @Avidspark @InvaderGzim If you're referring to my dad. He dove out the front glass with a WW2 NAVY bomber jacket his buddy gave him upon discharge and lived a long life. He lost some of his Hollywood looks to third degree burns but never his appeal to other people. He was naturally likeable and I'm trying to finish my life in consistent pursuit of that same tolerance.

@SECRET_ASIAN_MAN @MidnightRider @Avidspark @InvaderGzim

Odds are we can get Mike Johnson to outlaw TransUnion because it sounds like LGBTQ marriage rights.

@CanisPundit @SECRET_ASIAN_MAN @Avidspark @InvaderGzim Mike is a hoot, I enjoyed his work was lord helmet.

@CanisPundit @SECRET_ASIAN_MAN @Avidspark @InvaderGzim I ran into friendly Canadians from Montreal. They were playing some Rush. When they finished, I said I thought you guys might bust out a Saga tune. We talked for a bit; they were cool. Canadians are cool. I get them and love them.

@MidnightRider @Avidspark @SECRET_ASIAN_MAN @InvaderGzim for me it appears it’s due to duration of credit, two paid mortgages, no BK’s, no loans currently, no late payments, credit cards usually paid off each month. maybe I should floss more often?

@CanisPundit @Avidspark @SECRET_ASIAN_MAN @InvaderGzim I just want my rates to be the best for insurances and the like. If I took money out I'd go to the "banko de buddy" and slide him the interest.