how do you get good credit? My credit isn't THAT bad, but I'm about $500 in the hole and haven't made a payment in a few months.

So obviously I have to pay it off, but will it go back down with time? Or do I need to just keep purchasing shit on credit and responsibly pay it every month? I have no plans to settle down or buy a house anytime soon, but I realize it's kind of difficult to get apartments or car loans.

i'd start making payments if i were you

You need to start using credit and paying it on time. Maybe look into a secured Visa or something.

fuck credit, terrible idea

spoken like a true homeless man

should have to freecreditreport.com and you'd be a happy bachelor with a dog and a yard

Try having 20k in student loans with no degree.

yeah, you should get a copy of your credit report...i thought i had paid all my debts when i tried to rent at my new apartment in seattle; they weren't gonna rent to me; i didn't even know there were 3 or 4 things still outstanding...two which weren't even my debts...i got it settled, but almost didn't get a good place to live because i chose to be ignorant

i know it's old fashioned, but cash is fuckin tits.

True. cash is the dicks but alot of times you have to have your credit checked, for buying, renting homes; i had mine checked when i got car insurance here in seattle

wtf? you think this is helping any?

If you haven't made any payments in a few months, your credit is THAT bad.

Uh, is it normal to just not give a damn about the consequences at this stage in my life? I mean the police aren't knocking on my door or anything.

well, it's not abnormal, but you should be smarter than that, you know? I mean, regardless of what you think now, you should at least entertain the idea that you might want to say, oh, I don't know, live in a house of your own someday? you think bad credit goes away if you just start playing nice again one day? no, it will haunt your ass, and you'll look back on how you feel right now about it and feel like "shit man, I REALLY FUCKED UP back then, what a dick I was..." and then the REAL fun begins..

serious, dude, bad credit, especially now, is a fucking weight you'll end up carrying around on your back for years. It doesn't matter if you start paying shit now, although of course you should, but they keep records for years and years.
Banks don't fucking play when it comes to that shit, they hold the strings and you want even SOME semblence of a comfortable future, you'll do well to look into a reputable credit / debt recovery type agency to help you re-establish some valid credit.
The grown up gig is hard enough as it is- and I'm not preaching, I'm just telling you what I think, what's the point in making it MORE difficult by being willfully ignorant about it right now? And not just ignorant, but detrimental too, with complete awareness of what you're doing to yourself...

sorry to rant, but this is one of those things where you (as in everyone) should know that this kind of thing has some shitty side effects down the road, and you're fully capable of making it better right now.

828

And if I'm completely out of debt in 4 months, they can hold it against me 5 years from now? There's some sort of legal precedent for them to do this? That's ethical.

yes, sure, tell the bank that in 15 years or so when you want them to loan you a down payment, they're definitely going to agree with you...

Uh, and why shouldn't they? Especially if I'm holding a job.

hahaha, you're so cute. whatever, I'm just saying.
and you posted the question about it so I gave you my reply, that's kind of the point of the thread, no?

past actions. They are under the impression that people don't change unless they show a dynamic change in actions.

Thanks for the advice, but I'm making sure I have the moral/intellectual high ground here. Really, it isn't like I've killed somebody because I miss a payment now and then.