Credit Scores and

Marshal McLuhan, the man credited with coining the phrase "The Medium is the Message", was responsible for another interesting quote:


Money is a poor man's credit card.


For my whole life I have been of the strong opinion that credit is something to be avoided. Actually, let me restate that. Debt is a thing to be avoided. This was drilled into me since I was very young. It appears that there is a long history in my family of ridiculing people who get into debt. Anecdotes abound about people who won the lottery and were deeply in debt 2 years later. Also athletes - like Michael Vick, I hear, is about $10 million in debt. How can someone make so much money and still be in debt?





One good way to avoid debt is to avoid credit cards.


We are sparing with our credit cards and we never spend more than we can pay off. In fact, the only reason that we got them was to help build better credit. Having 3 sources of revolving credit that you pay off each month that are well below their limits will help your credit score.


It is difficult though. And if you just carry the cards around with you counting on your good sense to keep you from using them too much, there is a good chance that you'll fail.


Turns out there are some good reasons for this. This story on MSNBC suggests that not only is it easier to use a credit card, but that using a credit card induces euphoria!