some of this is very confusing.... i thought i was doing the right thing buy paying cash for houses and real estate and vehicles ... and for carrying few credit cards that i paid the balance in full each month, but often fully utilized them ....  and i have actually damaged my credit rating, altho my banker loves me  i have a net worth of 3.4K with 129K in total debt (a commercial real estate mortgage) with FICO scores in the mid 600's but I'm huntin'em down silly wabbits'   thanks for all the common sense talk, this is like an advanced game of monopoly ...  it's all in strategy and that roll of the dice that get sometimes put you in park for just a bit ....  thanks for this educationally illuminating fun house ....