Kelly Wearstler

I generally encourage people to make good on debts when they have enough money to repay them. But once a delinquency has been reported to a collection agency, paying it off won't help your FICO score. The damage has already been done, and the blemish will remain on your credit report for seven years.

I remember once in junior high school, on a Friday, my mom came home from work and said to my brother and I, 'You know, between us, we have only 27 cents, but we have food in the refrigerator, we have our little garden out back, and we're happy, so we are rich.'