Credit Score vs. Living Debt FREE

I know! You haven’t “seen” me in almost a year and here I am!

Ready to bitch.

Can I just say; WTF?

Let me explain.

A week or so ago I got the new Homeowner’s Insurance bill. $5,091.00!

One more time…WTF? Not living in a new McMansion here. It’s an average house built in 1942.

I realize I started paying Homeowner’s Insurance 30 years ago at about $2,000/year. Yes, I know things always go up, they never come down unless one is testing Gravity itself. No, they do not come down. But that’s a hell of jump, don’t you think? Even in 30 years. I paid it last year, first year we were without a mortgage!!!!! I thought the $4,595.00 was a little much but I figured, fuck it, I’ll shop around next year.

Today is Next Year.

I spent 45 minutes on the phone with just GEICO “shopping” for a new policy. I answered the same damn questions until I was getting slightly perturbed. Each time I finished answering questions the agent told me something like; Well, they’re not insuring people in your area.

What does that mean?

I don’t live in a “bad” area. I live in a rather nice area full of good folks who go to work everyday, keep their property up, and (as far as I know) their noses clean. So what does that mean; they’re not insuring people in my area?

I asked. I didn’t get an answer.

GEICO went through about 5 companies that they “work with” (I kinda thought they were the insurance company but I guess they’re just the broker) and came back with the same answer. For the sixth company they transferred me….but not the answers to my questions…to another representative that the computer deemed “capable of working in Connecticut”.

I don’t know where they thought I was, I mean, they asked me my address several times and I didn’t lie. Afterall, why would I want to pay to insure another property like…one I don’t own?

Finally, after answering all those questions again and again and again, I got a quote. $4,995.00.

Wow! Ya kinda wasted more than that minuscule savings just in my time and patience. So, ya know, have a lovely day, Insurance Lady.

Not wanting to go through that BS again with another company, I went to my existing company’s website just to see if I couldn’t, at least, get on a monthly payment schedule. Yes, last year I was kind enough to pay it in one lump sum BUT since my house taxes went up a whopping $1,300/year and those bloody bastards want money they could never actually earn outside of engaging in illegal activities just a few weeks before the insurance is up, well, one lump ain’t gonna happen this year. The site informed me that I could do that BUT I have to call them.

Fuck.

Why can’t I just do it online?

Anyway, as I’d sat there for over 40 minutes with GEICO, I had little to do but read my existing policy and the Credit Thingy on a back page wherein I noticed…I was behind on my mortgage? Seemed my bankcards weren’t good either.

Excuse me?

The lady at my existing insurance company didn’t know anything about that. Then I said; Hey, you realize you prepared this report nearly 4 months before it was due? I paid off the mortgage last June. By the way, insurance lady, I don’t have any friggin’ credit cards.

Still, nothing she could do but put me on a fucked up monthly payment plan which I accepted as I now fully understood why people do not “shop around” for house insurance. It’s a bloody waste of time.

This Credit Karma thing is always sending me emails since last I did my taxes online. I was ignoring it until today. Well, I did forget the login information so, ya know. Today I managed it and discovered my “credit score” for the very first time in 58 years on Planet Earth.

To my bleak amazement the funny little green half circle with its number tucked inside informed that my Credit Score is just kinda-sorta ok.

What?

I’m looking at the screen to see I have ONE bill in collection for a grand total of $187.00. I found out how to dispute that bill so I did.

Hey, I left Xfinity/Comcast in 2020 at the height of COVID because their “system” couldn’t understand the words World Wide Pandemic. I owned them 1 month’s bill and they were going to shut me off. ONE month. I clearly remember arguing, begging, and pleading with the lady to just give me two weeks and I’ll pay that month’s bill and the next one. But NO. Their “system” wouldn’t let me do that. So I scrambled to get up that $187.00 and then I promptly left them BEFORE the next billing cycle.

Yep, I paid them and went right to Breezeline and had a new provider in less than 24 hours. I took Xfinity/Comcast’s equipment right back to them and said Good Day. Of course, it was COVID, and I had to dump each piece of equipment into bins that were outside the storefront. No one was paying any attention INSIDE the storefront.

A week or so later I got a bill for cable services clearly stating dates that I’d already fired them for. I called. I told them that. They agreed, yes, I had brought my equipment back and I had called them and canceled their service before the billing could begin BUT….

There was nothing they could do about it. Their “system” wouldn’t let them.

Needless to say they didn’t see $187.00 from me and they are never going to.

Shitty service anyway. Totally overpriced and it kept conking out, they had to replace the crappy modem they gave me TWICE in less than a year. Then they left me to use their app to reset my system…each time it conked out. You know, instead of having a tech do it, yes, I know it was COVID, but they could have done something even over the phone.

The stupid app is like Self-Checkout. You do the job but you don’t get a paycheck for it.

Any-hoo, I finally officially disputed that bill which is now owned by a collection agency that’s enjoying saying I became indebted to THEM in December of 2022 adding two years to the bill in their favor.

Whilst I was on Credit Karma looking at that little green half circle with its odd number tucked inside equating to an unpleasing Credit Score (it isn’t horrible but, to my way of thinking, it should be a hell of a lot better than that!) I saw that they did, indeed, even through the very credit monitoring company that my Homeowner’s Insurance uses, have my mortgage as Paid in Full. If said Homeowner’s Insurance hadn’t jumped the gun there my premium might be a bit lower.

Credit Karma informed me that I had a very nice sum in Home Equity, full amount of the house actually. I have no outstanding bills, not even a utility bill. No outstanding loans. No outstanding credit card debit. Everything has been paid on time and is fully up-to-date and it has been for several years. (Save Xfinity/Comcast)

In 2024 that’s a very bad thing.

Yes, we have lived a life where Cash is King and if we can’t pay for it we simply don’t get it. They used to call that Living Within Your Means but today it translates to Fucked Up Credit Score. Do you know that, for years and years, as the “news” told us about The Nation’s Credit Card Debt and that the average there was around 20k (eeek!) hubby and I were always very proud that we were not in that number. At all. Nope.

I guess that was the wrong attitude. We should have had at least 20k just in credit card debt and instead of sweating it asked to declare bankruptcy when we couldn’t pay it. That’s what we were supposed to do.

Do you have any idea how thrilled I am that I nearly never ever listen to any “expert advice”?

Well, while I was the site, I noticed one “hard” item (whatever that means) so I clicked it and realized that a few days ago, while reupping my BJs membership, they talked me into applying for….their credit card. It was them checking up on me. I don’t know if I’ll get the credit card but, at the time, and since it was right after “The Debate” I thought; what the hell, I’ll apply? Might actually need it soon.

Other than those two very small things on my Credit History, anyone with half a brain should be able to look at it and say; DAMN! This chick doesn’t owe anybody a frickin’ thing! AND she’s got all this home equity? She’s even got SAVINGS? WTF? That’s CRAZY!

They should be lining up for my business. Begging for it.

Instead, somehow, the fact that we’re not Living in Debt, is a bad thing.

That little green half circle with its number tucked inside seem to be smirking at me. Mocking me for having not a lived a life of debt and whispering that was, somehow, Unamerican of me.

Not knowing yet if I scored the BJs credit card or not I noticed Credit Karma had credit cards and I thought; what the fuck? Let’s try.

Oh. Wait. Look.

Those are NOT credit cards.

They’re pre-paid debt cards. More or less.

You know, you fill out all this information, sign your life away to us at 29% interest, we give you a card with our name on it but only AFTER you deposit your limit amount with us. You can use that to pay your “credit card” bill or you can send a payment at that 29% interest. Either way, the privilege of having our name in your wallet is going to cost you $35/year.

Honey, if I wanted a pre-paid credit/debit card, I’d go to Walmart and get one. You know what? No one would make me fill out a fucking form for it or pay more than the $6.00 “activation fee”. So, guess which one of you is the Better Deal, hey?

I clicked out when they asked me to deposit money with them and thought; I’ll just wait and see what happens with BJs.

Yes, I had decided to just go back to living my life the way I always have. Debt Free. You know, now that the mortgage is paid off, baby!!!! I never let that little green half circle with its number tucked inside bother me before today so why should I let it do so for one more second?

No reason. So, I shall not do that.

We shall continue to live Debt FREE as much as humanly possible at our advancing age.

In a few years when we cash in this house and move to Belize we’ll sit on a nice beach enjoying the brilliant sunset and laugh and laugh and laugh.

Could be sooner than that I suppose. I’ll check back with you, say, early November this year?

(Either way that shitshow falls we are totally and completely fucked!)