Credit cards can be a major pain in the neck. With annoyances like payment dates, interest charges, and annual fees, it's easy to become fed up. So after years of headaches, you’ve decided to do away with credit cards once and for all by destroying your credit. While we here at Creditnet would strongly advise against this decision, this is America, so who are we to stop you from doing what you want? In all honesty, you’ll be happy to know that despite spending all those years garnering an excellent credit score, demolishing it can be easy as pie.
Put simply, your credit score is basically a figure that quantifies your trustworthiness for lenders offering financial products like credit cards, mortgage, or auto loans. So what are the easiest ways to have these institutions view you as an unreliable, delinquent, and irresponsible person? Follow these three easy steps, and you’ll never be able to finance a car, house, or any other major purchase ever again!
3 Fail-Safe Ways to Destroy Your Credit
1. Ignore Payment Dates This one is easy. You know that guy that shows up late to every meeting and misses every deadline? This is your chance to be him. Not only does everyone at the office hate that guy, so do credit card companies. After just a few demonstrations of your inability to pay your debts on time, credit issuers will no longer look to do business with you, or just give you an astronomical interest rate. Make late payments, and you’re well on your way to destroying your credit score. 2. Max Out Your Credit Cards One of the most deceptive aspects in the world of credit cards is your credit limit. Every card has a maximum amount of money that you are allowed to charge. While you always can spend up to this limit, doing so actually hurts your credit score. This is because your credit utilization ratio, which accounts for about 30 percent of your FICO score, will skyrocket, and credit issuers will also perceive you to be outspending your means. Every dollar spent on your credit card is viewed as money you don’t currently have, so when you spend as much borrowed money as you possibly can, it’s easy to see how this can be viewed as irresponsible. If you’re trying to destroy your credit, max it out! Spend ‘til you can’t spend no more, and you’ll destroy your credit in no time! 3. Live the Nomad’s Life If you really want to give your credit the coup de grace, you’ve got to be willing to live a nomadic lifestyle. Got a steady job? Get rid of it. Been living in the same house for a while? Time to change digs a few times, ignore your bills, and leave no forwarding address. Lenders love to see stability in a person’s life. If you’re a person who has held a steady job and hasn’t changed residences excessively, then credit issuers know you generally have your act together. Those who can’t seem to maintain the same lifestyle for a good chunk of time won't be looked upon so favorably, so get rid of your sedentary habits if you really want to buck the pressures of credit worthiness. These three steps are only for the people who want to ruin their credit. For those rational folks out there, check out Creditnet’s great resources to help you build your credit knowledge, and you’ll achieve a respectable credit score in no time.
