If you have no debt, the only factor into your credit history is payment history, as you will see when looking at your free online FICO score. If you pay all bills on time but have no debt, you thus have an ideal life but a mediocre to poor credit score.

A millionaire who owns his own home outright, has enough cash to buy another one, no car payments, and no student loans can thus have a bad FICO score. The person with a huge mortgage, HELOC, car lease and credit card debt up to their eyeballs but pays all bills on time but has no savings has a perfect FICO score. Whose life do you consider better?

The one who ones everything outright without any debt and a lousy credit score? Or the one whose life is on payments but has a perfect payment score? Many people would rather own it all outright, and say forget it to FICO.