Build Your Credit Score Without a Credit Card

It's often said that credit cards are a necessity to get a credit score and have any chance of securing a loan, but there are ways to do it without credit cards at all.

The exact formulas for calculating your credit scores are proprietary -- and complicated. Only credit bureaus (such as Experian, Equifax(EFX Quote) and Transunion) and Fair Isaac(FIC Quote) know the precise rules of the game. Regardless, the common wisdom goes, we have to play.

But do we?

Flirting with credit card debt can be dangerous. Rates and rules are often changed at lenders. Congress has recently taken renewed interest in credit card company abuses. And, for many, the temptation to overspend has left people awash in debt. ...