All we ever hear about today is how important it is to have a great credit score. The benefits of having a high score can lead you to lower interest rates and a lot of freebies. Most Americans are walking around with bad credit. The main reason they have bad credit is because they have never been taught how to manage their money properly. We go thru elementary, middle, and high school and never attend one financial planning class. Growing up I had no idea what credit was. I actually didn’t learn about it until college. I was happy to see that my credit score was a 730 before real life took effect.
I was layoff at one of my biggest jobs to date which put my credit score on a life line. The bad remarks start showing up on my credit report. Unemployment checks just weren’t helping. Between rent, student loans, a new born, child care, food, and a boyfriend that worked when he felt like it I was screwed. This was just something life did not prepare me for. Once I finally found a job the debit was overwhelming. I had to play the catch up role. Paying bills in installments, etc. It was hard and till this day I’m still making payments. It’s easy as hell to take your credit from good to bad. It is hard as hell to take your credit from bad to good. Even when you pay off your delinquent bills they keep it on your credit report up to seven years. There isn’t a way around it. Does this mean that I was bad with money? I’d have to say yes and no. Yes because as an adult I should have know the importance of savings. No because you can’t be prepared for all the hardships life decides to throw at you. Good credit does matter. It show you that the person your dealing with is good at dealing with their responsibilities. Nobody wants a liability!
I’m not perfect. My credit is okay but not great. The difference between me and most people is that I’m working hard to raise my score and handle things better. I get with what I got and if I ain’t got it then I’m not getting it! People tend to live beyond their means and that is a bad habit that you have to break. I grew up around women that bounced checks for shit they really didn’t need. I don’t want my children making the same mistakes. Teach your children now the importance of saving and managing money. Don’t let a cycle of brokenness continue on to the next generation.
GOOD CREDIT IS HIGHLY IMPORTANT! I REPEAT, HIGHLY IMPORTANT! And anyone who says otherwise is misguided and setting themselves up for trouble. Here's a little extra info for those people with bad credit who work for the government... get to correcting that QUICKLY. Because a bill has been proposed by a Republican, that would cause individuals with bad credit to possibly lose their job. Str8 no bullshit. And ppl wonder why its important to vote.
ReplyDeleteGet your credit score up and do like Geri said, stop living beyond your means.