Pinky, I know this is dated, but hope you were able to get your disability to come through. Also did you end up starting to rebuild your credit or do you plan to use debit/cash going forward?

I have retired early due to injury and still waiting on disability to come through, however, I had been paying all my bills and accounts through my bank account and not with credit. I found out after trying to apply for a small charge account, that I have no credit anymore. Everything is over 10 years old and they only stay on your credit for 7 years. I have to start all over again.

Meya wrote: I want to pay my own mortgage not someone else's.

When people say this, it's time to think about a rent to own situation. You're still renting, but the money is eventually going to a down payment for the house. It's a win-win for most people.

Haha that is the unfortunate thing that usually happens!

Over time I heard that those who don't need to borrow money at a bank usually can.

My wife before she met me ran into this problem as well. Before we were married, she was unable to get anything approved. Now it falls under me.

That is right. I am not agreeing with the banks, but their argument is the income you are receiving is not as stable and is unpredictable so they do not want to underwrite that risk. They prefer stable full-time jobs where you have a weekly/monthly paycheck. It is unfair to freelancers or part-time workers.

I fall into the freelancer category and while I have a good credit score, I doubt I could get approved for anything on my own. I have credit cards from my full time employment days and they keep my credit score up there, but my husband is the one who takes out all the loans.

I've heard of this too, MEDI. It's very difficult for people who don't work a full-time job outside of their home to be eligible for much of anything. I know that I will never be able to retire early. My husband and I have already decided that we will both most likely be working into our 70s because we want to move to a different state as soon as our kids are done with school.

I've heard that some lenders also do not consider part-time works as worthy of income source. They usually would require confirmation that we are actually employed. It has to be two years at minimum. That sounds rather annoying for freelancers or part-time workers.

I definitely think in today's economy people will have to work well into their retirement. It is important to find secondary income to help along the way.

Hosting foreign exchange students is an interesting idea for additional income. It may even fill a gap some "empty-nesters" are feeling. As of right now, my husband and I aren't even thinking about retirement, although we have some friends who are planning to retire early in about eight years.

I cannot imagine how stressful it would be to retire with a hefty monthly mortgage payment to find, or having to stay in full time work to meet living expenses.

If someone is older and has just taken a mortgage, or still has a way to go on it I think it's well worth looking at ways to boost income and pay the debt down faster. I have two friends who host language students so they can do this.

HJM331 its been a long time, hope you are well. Since I started this thread, I honestly think your going to see more people working into their 70's because of setbacks due to the current economy.

One way you can use your age to advantage is to show off your long and positive credit history you worked hard to maintain all these years! Let those creditors know what you're working with.