To make a long story short, it is possible to live without credit. However, if living without credit is something you are interested in, you will need to understand that you will have numerous hurdles to face. So many hurdles, in fact, that in most cases it would be more wise for you to focus on building your credit than it would be for you to try to live without any credit at all. Let’s take a look at a few circumstances that are harder to overcome without a solid credit history.
Car Rentals.
For one thing, having an adequate credit history gives you the ability to rent a vehicle without too much hassle. By contrast, if you choose to go without a credit history, renting a vehicle becomes that much harder. Rather than providing the rental company just your credit card and letting them do a credit check, you will most likely need to provide further documentation, and this documentation often involves things like affirmation from a minimum of two people that you live at the address you claim to live at, a few utility bills, and different forms of ID. It is important to note that even if you do come prepared with these items, many rental car companies have the right to deny you anyway.
Renting an Apartment.
Since you are reading this post, you probably already know that home ownership is a big no-no when it comes to trying to live without credit. After all, no sane mortgage company is going to lend a 30-year loan to someone with no prior credit history.
However, choosing to rent instead can come with its own downsides. For one thing, most landlords will not be comfortable lending to someone without credit. If, by chance, you do manage to find someone willing to rent without an established credit history, in most cases, these locations will be less than ideal and come with their own issues. For example, you may find a landlord that does not require a credit check, but the AC could break down frequently.
Employment.
In many instances, having a lack of credit won’t deter you from getting a job. With that said, there are certain positions wherein you will need to have decent credit. An example of this would be working as a police officer, which is a position that requires the trust of the public. This one is a bit easier to work around, if only because there are many places of employment that do not require credit checks. Other instances where you may need to have a decent amount of credit include jobs where you handle many transactions or deal with precious items on a daily basis.
Are There Any Other Alternatives?
It is technically possible to manually create a credit history of sorts, particularly if you are trying to get a loan. However, this is a very time-consuming route to go down. You will need to provide the loan officers with years of rental history or utility bill history. However, you will already need to have secured an apartment and lived in it for years before this approach is appropriate.
As you can see, trying to live without credit is possible. The question you need to ask yourself is if you are willing to go through many of these hurdles to do so.
