The world of finance's resident grumpy dad figure Dave Ramsey has some very strong opinions about credit scores -- including that yours might be baloney. Ramsey has a reputation for his staunch, no-allowances formula for managing your finances. And his latest Tweet brings that very same gym coach energy to your FICO score.
"Financial success is about what you have IN the bank, not what you owe TO the bank," Ramsey said. "Don't look at a credit score to determine how well you're doing with money." As he elaborates, his statements get more definitive. "A FICO score has NOTHING to do with success, it only highlights how much you borrow money and pay it back."
His perspective is a controversial one. A good credit score is imperative when it comes to almost every major decision an adult will make. And in order to build a credit score, one must inevitably acquire debt to pay it off.
Ramsey notoriously believes that there is no such thing as good debt. And at the moment, for Americans, insecurity about paying debt is no joke. Debt is up 8% from the third quarter of 2021, and credit card debt saw a whopping 14% increase from 2021 to 2022. In the current climate, a no-debt approach may not be realistic for most.
The financial self-help author tweeted the same day that "debt is not a tool. It makes banks wealthy, not you."
