What is a Credit Score and Why Should you Care?
As a mortgage specialist, I’m telling my kids all the time that their credit history is even more important than their school grades. And both my kids are only under 12. Just like dentists’ kids must have perfect teeth, my kids better have perfect credit when they are old enough to have credit, or they will hear from me.
Why am I so fierce on this issue? Because I see borrower after borrower paying the penalty for credit problems. That penalty shows up in many different facets of your life other than just higher interest rates. Potential employers can look up your credit score and perhaps decide not to hire you because of your bad credit. Potential landlords can decide not to rent to you based on your poor credit score. If that little number is too low, it can make your life a lot more difficult. In addition to the credit score, lenders will look at your credit report, which reports on credit balances and any late payments you’ve had. In short, it’s a good summary of all the past mistakes you’ve made in your bill paying lifetime.
If you haven’t the slightest idea what your credit score is or if you haven’t seen your credit report lately, then here is a step by step method to get your own credit score, and improve it.