You Can Be Summed Up By A Number

Credit scores.  I still find it incredible that American's are basically judged by a "credit score" that may or may not be an accurate reflection of their ability to pay.  I realize that the system for creating a credit score is good in theory- but nothing is perfect!  If you've ever had to deal with mistakes on your credit report, you probably agree that it's definitely a less-than-perfect system.

At first, credit scores and the information found in your report would be used only if you were going to apply for new credit- like a credit card or a loan.  More recently, however, credit scores have become a reason for someone to be denied a job position, experience a rate increase on their automobile insurance or be denied car insurance all together!  Why should a person's credit score affect these situations?

I have a friend who is a single mom, and had been since getting out of high school.  She lived on her own, raising her child, and of course it wasn't easy!  She probably was late on payments regularly.  She was working in one dead end job after another, waiting tables or running a fast food drive through- until she put her child in school and had the ability to get a more permanent job.  She applied for a banking job, and after the interview was told they'd just need to do the background check and check her references but that they really liked her. She was so excited and figured she'd get the job- until she received a phone call the next day that said the bank was unable to hire her because of a low credit score.  They felt her inability to manage money would carry over into her job and they couldn't take that risk.

Because the credit score is starting to play a role in just about everything we do, I would suggest that you know what your score is and exactly what information is in your report that creates that score.  You may be surprised to find some errors that can be corrected which would then improve your score... or you may be surprised that your credit score is higher than you thought. 

Since you have the ability to get a free report from each of the major credit bureaus once in every 12 month period, you should take advantage of that and see how you can improve your data.  If you're going to be summed up by a number, you may as well make it as high of a number as possible!

Comments