You’re right, they should have just starved instead! So enlightened, thanks for setting us all straight!

The only people who don’t need credit to live are rich enough that money will never be out of their reach.

Also, your credit cards are a different kind of “loan” - revolving - vs those other debts, which are installment. Having a mix of the two will improve your credit. They literally want it to be impossible to have good credit without the cards.

The first time I wanted to finance a car I discovered I have what’s called a “thin file.” My (interest free) student loan wasn’t reporting to all 3 agencies. I was able to get my dad to co-sign. I was 26. Discovered then that being told “never ever ever own a credit card” (by my dad!) was very bad advice. Get one with a low limit and use it to pay the same bill every month. Credit! Now other places trust that you pay your bills.

I’ve since gotten several cards (it’s been nearly a decade) and they each serve a different specific purpose. I purposely target high signing bonuses and my purchases are better protected. My limits are stupid high, which I guess is nice but I’ll never put that much on so it’s a bit pointless. Then again, knowing I have access to that if things ever become dire is nice.

I have a small house I purchased in a neighborhood full of renters. I bought during the low interest pandemic times, too, so my mortgage is less than most people’s rent. If I won the lottery tomorrow I would definitely sell my house for a better one (I make about 30% more now than when I bought, and the only reason I won’t move now is because of the interest rate). So many people have told me that I need to rent this place out rather than sell it. But I don’t have the ability to be the kind of landlord you described and therefore I know I shouldn’t be a landlord at all.

Does this take into account the value of the land? Solar notoriously takes up space so I’m curious how much space you’d need for a solar farm that could produce as much power as Vogtle…

This might be true for large reactors but I don’t think it will hold true with small modular reactors. We need the stability of nuclear too, as power demands overall rise.

Renewables should definitely be a priority still, but nuclear shouldn’t be kicked out of the conversation.

Not too late if we make small modular reactors a thing. Once you build one, every one after it will become cheaper and faster to build. Link 10-20 SMRs together and you could have a plant. Or just put 1 or 2 where they are most needed. SMRs are the future of nuclear, no doubt. But the current big reactors will mostly be around for a while, too.