Originally Posted by Ourcrazymodern?

Advise your friend to avoid credit altogether.

Originally Posted by NoSoup

Why Credit is Important

It seems that the old days of paying for everything with cash are gone. Doing so these days will actually cost you additional money - potentially thousands of dollars. Your credit - like it or not - plays a huge role in many things that you do. It affects your insurance rates, is utilized by many apartment complexes to approve tenants, obtain credit cards, vehicle loans, and mortgages. Recently, quite a few employers have recently started screening for potential employees by examining their credit. The fact is, it is hugely advantageous to have a high credit rating, and likely will make life much easier on you - not to mention much less expensive in the long run.

The difference between good and bad credit on large purchases is tremendous. A person with a poor credit rating will generally pay tens of thousands of dollars more in interest than someone with average credit, and a person with excellent credit will pay even less.