Your credit score is incredibly important. Having a good score can help you in a lot of ways. It can even save you during an emergency. If you needed to take out a loan, for any reason, having good credit is helpful. It can save you thousands of dollars when making large purchases with credit and on interest.
Sadly, a lot of people take their credit for granted. They don’t protect it. It’s there as a plaything. If you want to buy something you can’t afford, they’ll just pull out the plastic. They’ll keep doing that until suddenly they can’t even afford minimum monthly payments. That’s when the real trouble begins.
From a young age people should be taking care of their credit. And if it’s in bad shape right now, be more active! You can repair your credit. It will take some time, but don’t just sit on your hands and let it deteriorate. By putting the ball in your court, you can actually save yourself grief in the future. Here are 6 reasons why you should actively repair your credit.
1) Your Credit Report Might Have an Error
Here’s a statistic that might hit close to home: 1-in-4 reports have an error. That’s no joke! The Federal Trade Commission did a study and found that 1-in-4 credit reports have an error on them. That can directly harm your credit score! One-in-twenty reports had a major enough of an error that it dragged their score down 20 or more points.
You also have a 1-in-4 chance of being defrauded by a credit card scammer. These are real numbers. If you’re not careful, it can certainly happen to you. Millions of Americans each year become victims to credit card fraud. By keeping up with your credit and repairing when necessary, you can catch these problems early.
2) You Can Refinance Your Loans
There may be a time when your debt overwhelms you. Rather than just sitting back and letting it pile up with more interest, act! If you have a good credit score, you can combine all your debts into one, smaller monthly payment. Having a better score means better rates and less interest paid overall.
Your credit score will determine the rates when money is lent. As the economy dips or improves, this can change over time. The Feds change the overall interest rate. But if you have a great score, the lower your rate will be overall. Having lower payments can surely improve the quality of your life and make your debt more manageable.
3) It’s Easier to Get Approved for Financing
If you have a major need for financing, it can be a stressful process. Mostly you don’t know if you’d get approved. If you don’t have a strong credit score or a good record of spending, this will cost you. To wait around to find out if you got approved, only to be denied, is even more frustrating.
That’s where having a good credit score makes life easier. There’s much less of a chance of being denied. There are to major factors in getting financing approved. The first is your credit score. The second is the amount if income-to-debt you have. By repairing and maintaining your credit, it’ll be much easier to get approved.
4) You’ll Be Mortgage-Ready
One constant in life is that things are always changing. You might find yourself in a good spot right now, but what if you or your partner become pregnant? What circumstances would you need to upgrade your living situation and do it quickly? Renting isn’t always a good option these days. The price of rent continues to shoot for the moon.
Even if you’re not expanding your family, but just think it’s time to buy a home, you need to be ready. Your credit score is going to be a huge factor in determining whether you get approved. It can even save you down the line with a lower interest rate on that mortgage. Even a half percentage point can mean thousands of extra dollars if you’re not careful.
5) You Can Buy Things as Advertised
Don’t you hate car commercials that go on and on about discounts and low monthly payments? Well, you’ll be frustrated if you go into a dealer and ask for those prices. Those prices aren’t for you, my friend. They’re for the person who has spotless, perfect credit. They’ll advertise all the incentives in the world to get you in the door, only to shut you down.
No interest for several years, the no-money-down deal, yep, hands off! That doesn’t mean you’ll be completely denied an auto loan, but your credit makes an impact. If you spent time repairing your credit before buying a vehicle, those incentives can save you A LOT. We’re talking thousands of dollars over the life of your loan.
6) Discounted Car Insurance
A good credit score isn’t just good for lower auto loan rates. It can also save you with insurance, too. Most companies choose the rates based on your score. What your credit score has to do with driving, no one knows. It’s just an excuse for them to jack up your rates if you don’t have your affairs in order.
Overall, taking the time to repair your credit score is completely worth it. There are many discounts and incentives you will receive. Life will be much easier when you can get better rates, lower payments, and quick approvals. On the flip side, bad scores can really hurt you massively. Repair your credit while you can.
