Dear Liz: My wife and I are retired. We have always paid our credit card balances in full each month and have zero debt. A banker recently advised us to establish credit and make timely monthly payments in order to maintain a high credit rating in case we need to borrow in the future. I feel uncomfortable taking money from our investment portfolio to service debt, but I also wish to maintain our high credit rating.
Answer: You don’t need to take on debt or carry credit card balances to have good credit scores. Using a few credit cards lightly but regularly is enough.
Taking out an installment loan can help boost your scores if you’re trying to repair troubled credit. You also may need an installment loan on your credit reports if you want the highest scores possible. But the highest possible scores only give you bragging rights, not better rates and terms on borrowing.
If you’re concerned about maintaining your credit, consider monitoring at least one of your scores. Your bank or one of your credit card issuers may provide a free score, or you can sign up on one of the many sites that offer them. That will give you a better idea of how lenders view you as a credit risk and can help you see which behaviors help and hurt your scores.