Quick Hits: No credit score isn’t such a risk. Online predators not so common. The hammock bathtub.

• If you decide to get financially fit, and pay off your debts, it’s going to affect your credit score. That’s because your credit score is comprised entirely of the relationship you have with debt. The less debt you’re interacting with, the more negatively it will affect your score. So, what happens if you never borrow money at all? Well, most credit agencies can’t calculate a score for you, and it makes it difficult for you to do things that require a score. Like rent an apartment. Or get a mortgage for a new home. I didn’t say it was impossible, mind you, and those of us committed to staying debt free the rest of our lives are willing to jump through a few hoops to get stuff done. Besides, as more and more of us stop relying on credit, things will start to change. Already, Experian estimates that there are 64 million unscorable consumers in the country, and there are new companies are trying to find new ways to judge their financial viability. Who knows? In a couple more decades maybe the credit score will be as useful as it was in 1945.

• If you have children, then the ever-present fear of sexual predators might be a problem for you. We want to protect our children from the pedophile hiding under the bed, or on the street corner, or behind the computer screen. It’s likely, though, that that fear is just a touch exaggerated. For example, a few years ago, a study showed that despite social networks online being populated more and more with kids, most of them still resembled your everyday real world community – “comprised mostly of good people who are there for the right reasons.” Child predators were actually few and far between. Bullying was more of an actual concern. Facts put fears into perspective, which is a good thing, because our fears about our kids are starting to hurt them. Fact: Sex Offender Registries are listing more and more teenage children (and even some pre-pubescent kids) who are haunted for the rest of their lives due to a moment of foolish sexual indiscretion.

• I’m not sure if you could actually get clean in this tub, but it looks really cool.

Quick Hits: Credit scores are dumb. Listen more, talk less. Orange rolls on an open fire.

• We’ve been coordinating another session of FPU this Summer. Our next lesson will be Dave Ramsey’s famous Dumping Debt lesson, which includes a thorough explanation of what “Gazelle Intensity” means, what a debt snowball looks like, and the busting of several debt myths. One of my favorite debt myths to bust is the need for a good credit score. Your credit score has nothing to do with how financially successful you are. It’s only about your relationship with your debts. And debt is a product being sold, it’s not something anyone needs.

• I’ve had the opportunity recently to work with someone who has the particularly nasty habit of talking over his coworkers. It’s lead those who have to regularly deal with him to communicate around him, and not to him. They only tolerate him. And when his back is turned, eyes roll and actual plans are made. He thinks everything is fine, because he’s mistaking silent acquiescence for agreement. They’re not the same thing, and confusing them will be your undoing. Whether we’re at work, out with friends, or at home with our families, we need to be listening more than we speak, and promoting communication.

• I love three things about this blog post.  1) It’s a camp out cooking recipe. Everything tastes better when prepared over an open flame. II) The finished product looks really yummy and unique. C) He allowed his niece to have the experience of using a sharp knife to cut the oranges in half. That is excellent. Giving a child the opportunity to take responsibility and understand the risks involved while being properly supervised is a great way for them to have the chance to grow up to be adults who take responsibility and manage risks well.

FPU Lesson 4 – Dumping Debt

The fourth week of FPU attacks the biggest problem most of us have when it comes to winning financially. Out-of-control debt. Below are my notes from the lesson, including the key points that I highlight from the video when leading the class, and some supplemental material that I think could help the class go further on this topic.

Lesson 4, Dumping Debt

Key Points

Consumer debt has only become accepted as normal in America over the last 40 years. The credit card has only been in existence since 1950. It wasn’t until after 1970 that their use became widespread. Your ‘need’ for a good credit score is a recent invention. The Sears catalog used to warn customers against buying on credit, and now it’s their biggest money-making department.

Don’t believe myths about debt. It isn’t part of a healthy financial plan. Debt is a product being sold. Remember that whenever they offer a financing option. You’re being sold a product that is tremendously profitable for them. You don’t have to have a car payment. “90 days same-as-cash” isn’t actually the same as cash. Your FICO score has nothing to do with your financial stability. You can live a perfectly normal life without ever touching debt.

Remember the importance of gazelle intensity. It’s very easy in our culture to wander into a crippling amount of debt. Between stupid loans and consolidations, you can suddenly wake up and find yourself under a mountain of payments. Escaping from that kind of mess takes focus, sacrifice, and intensity. The same motivation a gazelle has when it’s running for its life.

Challenge

Chop some plastic. The first step to getting out of debt is to STOP borrowing more money. This is the week we break out the scissors and ask the class if they’d like to cut up some credit cards.

Go Deeper

If you want a more honest picture of how debt and wealth really works, check out these resources:

• The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas Stanley

• The Truth About Money Lies by Russ Crosson

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Next week, Lesson 5 – Buyer Beware.

Borrowing Trouble

Borrow trouble for yourself, if that’s your nature, but don’t lend it to your neighbors.

– Rudyard Kipling

With the recent downgrading of the US Credit Rating by the S&P, there is a whole lot of finger-pointing going on in Washington DC and on the news. That’s hardly unexpected, but it’s also unproductive. The damage is done. The focus needs to be on the future, not the past.

The everyday American has absolutely no control over the US Credit Rating. We have no control over the rising interest rates that are sure to come from this downgrade. Individually, you and I cannot even nudge the bureaucratic mass that surrounds our nation’s leaders in the direction we would prefer it to go.

So, what can we do? What do we have control over?

Ourselves.

We can stop waiting for the right person to come along, take charge, and make it all better for everyone. We can stop being passive and start accepting responsibility. We can each stop living for what makes us feel good right now, and instead we can start planning and preparing for our futures.

How does a downgrade of the US Credit Rating actually affect the individual American family? Let me highlight the last part of that video:

Many interest rates that we pay as consumers are directly tied to the Credit Rating of the US Goverment. Any decrease in the government’s Credit Rating could mean higher costs for many borrowers throughout the economy. The ripple effects of higher borrowing costs would punish consumers and entrepreneurs and further threaten a weak recovery.

Today, your average American household has thousands of dollars of consumer debt. Most of us wouldn’t imagine living without a car payment. We have become a borrowing nation filled with borrowers. Yet today, more than ever, being a borrowing consumer means higher costs and punishment. Our personal debts have put us at risk.

It’s time to stop borrowing. It’s time to get out of debt.

Make a budget. Live on less than you make.

Start today.