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Notes -
Paying rent can affect your credit score, but only if your landlord reports it, which few do. I would expect this is mostly your big corporate landlords.
They're oligopolistic, though your scores tend to be basically similar from them all. This is because they have basically the same input and the same goals (of determining a probability that someone can and will pay back a loan), and the scoring systems have all been developed through an iterative adversarial game. They are transparent about what goes into them, however, though not specific weights.
Eh, not really; as you've noticed, rent usually doesn't go into it. Nor do any non-credit purchases. Nor investment decisions. Nor salary or other payments for work, for that matter. It's only about credit.
It does not. Unless you count using credit cards and paying them off within the grace period as being "in debt". You can have a score good enough for all practical purposes doing nothing but that. (Having multiple types of credit will get you a few more points, but it's not necessary). There is, as far as I can tell, no disadvantage to doing this compared to paying cash (or using a debit instrument) for everything. (If the problem is you might be tempted to spend above your means if you do this... well, your credit score probably should be lower)
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