Not Being In Debt Is Better Than Having Awesome Credit

Sure, your credit score is important, mostly because bad credit can make your life difficult. However, as personal finance writer J. Money points out, it’s easy to lose sight of what’s even more important than solid credit: Not being in debt.

A couple of recent surveys, like this one from Bankrate, show that Generation Y-ers tend to avoid credit cards and other debt more than older generations. Experts think it’s probably because of our post-Recession economy. Student debt levels are crazy, for example, which makes Millennials wary of debt. Avoiding debt is generally a smart financial move. The problem is, smart financial moves aren’t always smart credit moves, thanks to a complicated and mysterious credit scoring system. But J. Money makes a good point: You don’t want to risk screwing up your finances just for a credit boost.

Over at Budgets Are Sexy, he writes:

[Millennials are] being smarter than most other adults out there! Who cares about the rewards if you’re just going to dig yourself into a hole in the end and pay more for the privilege of it. The “better for budgeting” play only works for those who already trust themselves around plastic too, btw — not those who don’t. We should all be cautious about our spending as financial security trumps credit all day, every day. You can’t discount the enormity of what debt can do to a person either — especially those who have clearly stated how nervous they make ’em (and rightfully so!).

Yes, you want to have decent credit. And yes, you want to know how credit works. Also, sure, credit cards can be fun for earning rewards!

But if you’re afraid of using credit because you know you’ll probably spiral into debt, the rewards won’t be worth it and your credit will take a beating anyway. Good money habits are more important than a perfect credit score, which doesn’t open any magical doors. And there are plenty of ways to build credit responsibly if you’re afraid of debt. Read the rest of J.Money’s rant at the link below.

Avoiding Debt Is More Important Than Your Credit Score! [Budgets Are Sexy]