Five Traits People With Good Credit Have in Common

Birds of a feather, like-minded people; you become like the people with whom you spend the most time. You might have heard sayings such as these in the past, and they are actually quite true. The more time you spend with people in your life, the more you become like them. This means that you will begin, over time, to adopt some of their traits and characteristics, and that includes the way that they view their finances. I can say with certainty that this is true. My husband’s and my best friends are a couple that’s been married just as long as us (10 years) and we had our kids together. We’re very like-minded in that we prefer to spend time together as couples instead of individually, and with our kids who have grown up together and are like siblings.

Our friends are very successful. They have done so well for themselves that they now own a multi-million dollar business that allows them the freedom to live their lives by design, and they have great money management skills. Over the course of the past decade of our friendship, we have learned from them several things. No matter how much money you have, you don’t have to spend it, and financing things is never a good idea. The only way you can be truly wealthy is to own your own belongings and not rely on financing. That’s helped us to realize that financing our cars is not something we want to do, or anything else for that matter. It’s what’s helped us learn that we should pay off our mortgage as quickly as possible and have no other debt. We like this lifestyle. We like being able to say we have no car payments, yet we drive what we want. We like saying things like that, and it’s because we learned from the best.

The more time you spend with people who have great financial skills and a great financial lookout, the more you will learn to adopt the same lifestyle. And the more time you spend with people who have excellent credit scores, the more time you will spend learning to improve your own. Here are a few of the most common traits that those who have an excellent credit score have in common. These are traits that, when applied regularly, will help you achieve an excellent credit score in a world full of good and average credit scores. Pay attention; this is the most valuable information you will receive as far as your credit score, your financial future and your personal life are concerned. These are traits all people with excellent credit have; not just a few of them since it is impossible to have excellent credit without all of these traits.

Responsibility

The people that have the highest credit scores in the world are those who have a great deal of responsibility. They are the people that understand and appreciate the importance of responsibility and work hard to achieve it. They don’t buy things just because they can. They don’t apply for cards in the middle of Old Navy so that they can save 15% on their entire purchase. They just don’t do things like that. They’re too responsible to make on the fly decisions with their financial future.

The ability to pay cash for everything

Those who have excellent credit scores rarely use their credit to make purchases. They might use their credit cards to make their monthly purchases so that they can earn rewards or cash back, but it’s paid off in full. They don’t finance cars, and many don’t even finance their homes. They pay cash for everything because they don’t want to have any debt at all. It’s a great trait to learn, too, because the less debt you have, the more financially independent you become.

A love of old accounts

So many people today are in love with new accounts. They love the perks and the benefits of opening new accounts, and they don’t even bother with their old ones anymore. But it’s the old accounts that are most beneficial to your credit score. The older an account, the higher your credit score since it has a long history to look at rather than a few months. The less you close old accounts and open new ones, the better. This is a trait that all people with excellent credit are very much aware of.

A firm belief in paying bills on time

You cannot have an excellent credit score if you are not paying your bills on time. It’s just not the way that it works. You have to pay your bills on time, pay them in full and you have to do what you have to do to make this happen. Maybe it means not eating as well as usual for a few weeks so that you can afford to pay your bills on time this month when it’s been a slow month. Maybe it means not taking vacation later this year or making Christmas a small one for a year while you get back on your feet after a job loss. It could mean anything, but the belief is there; all bills must be paid early or on time no matter what your current situation.

Always paying bills in full

This is the most important thing you can do for yourself. There is no need to have open and revolving credit accounts. If you cannot afford to pay for that new furniture in cash, don’t buy it. If you cannot afford to pay off your credit card at the end of the month – in full – don’t charge things to it. You have to be able to pay off your bills in full each month if you want to achieve the level of excellent that so few people are capable of doing with their credit scores. You have to be able to pay your bills in full all the time without question.

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