Life Can Be Difficult With Bad Credit

I wish that the importance of credit score was stressed to me when I was younger, even in college, and I suppose maybe it could have been, but it was the furthest thing from my mind at the time.  It took me years to build credit up after years of financial responsibility, which was my own mistake, that I can’t stress the importance of making sure your credit is at its absolute best, otherwise it can make or break what you have in everyday life.

Buying (Even Renting!) Can Be Tough

Credit score is a huge basis for loan approval, so if you do not have great credit you could be missing out on the best interest rates on the market which could cost you thousands of dollars a year in extra interest, or if it’s low enough, you could miss out on an approval altogether.  If renting is your choice, landlords do check credit history, so depending how bad credit is, you could be turned down for a mortgage and an apartment rental, so strive for the best you can.

Could Cost You the Job

If housing denial isn’t bad enough, what if credit cost you a potential job?  Well employers are starting to look at credit history to get an inside look at candidates.  I suppose employers feel that if you cannot be responsible with your finances, it could lead to ineffectiveness at work.  It could be a pretty embarrassing conversation to have with the employer if the interview went very well and then they had to come back to you and let you know that they changed their mind on the decision due to poor credit history.

Makes it Difficult to Get the Latest Cell Phone

The cell phone plans where you can pay, for example, $99 plus a two-year contract, or even a free phone up front are over for pretty much all carriers, with the new method being that you do not have to sign contracts for a specific period.  The way the phone cost factors in now is they take the full retail cost of the phone, which could be $700, and they divide that across monthly payments, usually around 30 months, and this cost is added to the price of your minute and data plan.  If you have poor credit, the carrier may not be willing to spread out these payments and require full payment up front.

Car Insurance Rates Could Soar

It’s bad enough that it already costs enough for car insurance premiums, but throw credit history in the mix, and insurance companies could skyrocket your rate, or not even approve you at all.  Seems to be not fair considering that credit score has nothing to do with your driving history, but I suppose much like how credit has nothing to do with employment, insurance carriers I guess could think that irresponsible credit could lead to poor driving or inability to make premium payments, or it could just be another way that insurance companies can raise the rate on us.