Vroom!

[danalwyn]

Also, I now have a car, despite the Dealership's last ditch attempt not to sell it to me.

Everyone on the internet lined up on the side of the Corolla. Unfortunately, everyone in real life lined up on the side of the Civic, and liking the Civic's handling slightly better, I went with it. So now I have a silver Civic.

I did not, however, qualify for financing (credit history not long enough for the financing department), which means that I had to buy it outright which, when combined with my IRA payment, has decreased my financial reserves significantly. I've got to do something about that credit history problem.

This is causing me significant distress since A) I normally never spend money if I can avoid it, and B) a significant chunk of my net wealth is now caught up in a very vulnerable piece of machinery. I really should avoid all this buying things stuff in the future. It just makes me nervous, which is the state in which I've been spending the last day or so. Plus, I keep wondering if I could have gotten a better deal. Obviously, I need to get hit on the head and contract amnesia for a bit. It will probably make me happier.

Comments

[silverjackal.livejournal.com]

Unless the system where you are is different from here (which may be possible, I don't know enough of the details to tell) this is the remedy for lack of history as well. Credit companies try to tell you that you need to carry debt (and pay them interest) to establish a good credit history, but that's not the case. They're still making money (off the merchant who pays fees to take credit), but at least they aren't making money off *you* while you're building up a borrowing and reliable repayment history off small things like groceries and gas.

Alternately a small personal loan (for something like buying furniture) isn't a bad idea provided you can get a decent rate. As much as I loathe paying interest or fees, it *is* a viable strategy.

I understand the desk-hiding. Mine is a substantial L desk, with a lovely amount of space. One can even take a novel under there... ;)

[danalwyn.livejournal.com]

I think my limit may not be high enough. I'll have to consider getting another credit card as well - that may add up in some strange way. It's possible that sheer number may help where other things fail. Also, it may be better for these kinds of loans if you have the ability to pay it all off with credit cards on the spot.

It's odd thinking about how irresponsible I have to be in order to be responsible. It makes my head hurt.

[silverjackal.livejournal.com]

that may add up in some strange way

It does, but you could also just ask them to raise the rate on your current card. I only have the one card, and it's a no-fee dividend card, so I get a tiny percentage (2%) of the value of my purchases back at the end of the year as well. At first the fact that it was "credit" bothered me, but in the mean time I've become accustomed to it (and don't feel too guilty, since it's always payed off in full).

It's also handy for tracking personal spending without having to sort and catalogue incidental receipts. I just sit down at the end of the month when I get my statement to make certain there's nothing on there that shouldn't be, and break down my expenses so I can see precisely what went where. These days it's not critical, but when money was tight it was a great way of keeping everything in line since I only allowed myself a very small amount of cash for incidentals, and reviewed everything else meticulously.