Credit score question

[Brian63]

Given those two characteristics, wouldn't it make sense that if a person is at a point in life where they are in good financial shape with a high enough and steady enough income, high assets over liabilities, etc. that they would go ahead and apply for more credit cards?

Credit cards are no substitute for an emergency fund, where you have set aside cash in savings or money market accounts to deal with unexpected expenses. This is especially true for people who are in good financial shape with a steady source of income that allows them to save. The money tied up in the emergency fund is insurance; it is not there to make you money, but to save you from borrowing, potentially at high cost from your retirement accounts, if/when an emergency arises. If you have a steady income and live within your means while saving for a rainy day and retirement, you don't need a high credit score, since you are using cash to pay for purchases.

Earlier in life I was rather careless about using credit cards excessively, and it did hurt in the longer term.

In the last several days I have been doing reading from other financial-guru sites about these scenarios, and there were some conflicting tips. Some were suggesting that if you have good credit, then it is to your benefit to apply for a new card every 6 months or so. The hard inquiry may drop your score about 5 points (but less if you have good credit), and the inquiry gets erased from your record in 6 months. But now, voila, you have more credit available and the debit-to-credit utilization will have decreased, which is a good mark for you.

Others advised against applying for more credit unless you needed it right then, though my memory unfortunately is a little murky about the rationale. I think it in part related to the potential need to apply for more credit in the next 6 months. So do not do it now, if within the next 6 months you may need to do it again. So apply for credit cards very sparingly.