Investment Today

Your credit score is something that you should be aware of, and something that you need to be diligent about keeping high. Your credit score can dictate how you live your life in more ways than you might think. Your credit score is based on your credit report and the information that it contains and is used when you apply for credit to make major purchases, for credit cards, for insurance, and even for many jobs.

When you apply for a loan to purchase something like a car or a home, your loan company will pull your credit report and look at your credit score. They have criteria that you must meet before they will approve you for a loan and your credit score is at the top of that list of criteria. If your credit score is above average, then you should have no problem obtaining that loan. If it is mediocre then you may need to come up with collateral for the loan or you may have to settle for a higher interest rate in order to get the loan. If your credit score is below average you may need to take an extremely high interest rate and/or offer collateral and/or get a co-signer to guarantee the loan, or it simply won?t be approved at all.

Many insurance companies are now looking at your credit score before they will approve you for insurance. This includes auto insurance, homeowner?s or renter?s insurance, and even health insurance. It doesn?t seem fair that an insurance company can look at your credit score and determine your eligibility for insurance based on it, but they can and they do. The only thing you can do about it is shop for an insurance company that doesn?t use your credit score. Call the insurance companies and ask them if they determine your eligibility or rates based on your credit score and if they say that they do, tell them no thank you. You don?t think it is any of their business. Tell them that your credit score is 690 but you don?t want to give them your business. Maybe if enough people do this they will get the message eventually.

Even less fair is the fact that many employers are requiring credit checks and determining whether they will offer you a job based on your credit score. Why does a job need to know your credit score? Why should that information be any of their concern. If your credit score is low then you may be in need of the job in order to get your bills paid up and raise your credit score. But that fact should not determine whether or not you are qualified for a job and certainly does not determine how well you will do the job. Somehow, though, at some point it became legal for employers to check your credit and they do it. It is unfair and it is an invasion of your privacy, but it is unclear what you can do to stop it if you need a job.

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