You know that feeling when something gets said so many times that people just start treating it as fact, no matter how shaky it was in the first place?
Like, Santa didn’t make the cut, but God sure did.
What are other examples of things that basically became true through repetition alone?
That you need a Credit Score
They’ve only existed since the 80s, but they’re now seen as essential, and unlikely to go away
But they don’t need to exist, and are actively harmful to people, and often just straight-up incorrect
The credit score system is one of the most bullshit systems ever created.
The only way you can increase it, is paying off loans and very few bills. It’s also easier to lose points than gain them. It took me 3 and a half years to pay off a $5k loan just to see my credit score get back to 714. Once it was paid off and of course I signed a new lease, about a good half of that score went down so I’m back to slowly building it again.
It’s bullshit. And so many things rely on a good credit score. Whether you’ll be approved for an apartment, whether you’ll get good rates on a car deal or whatever.
Well they are pretty correct when you think about them not as does this person pay their bills, but as will this person make the bank money.
That’s why you’re penalized for paying off something early and credit cards help your score but consistently paying rent doesn’t.
Credit score just shows they can make interest off you, not that you’re good with money, and in fact I feel like the people who are best with money (saves up and buys things cash) are just penalized with crappy credit scores.
Ah you’ve fallen for the oldest trick in the book, may I interest you in this $6 bill?
Fun fact: credit score disproportionately harms minority groups