You’ve been working really hard for many years to improve your credit score. After all, the reward of doing so makes life so much easier. People with bad credit often pay a lot more for the things they purchase. That’s because debtors take a risk by loaning to people with bad credit, so they overcompensate by hitting them with high interest and even higher monthly payments.
Over the life of a loan, a person with bad credit can pay thousands more than someone with good credit. That means if you’ve been working hard and shelling out a lot of money, and finally got your score into the 800s, there are a lot of things you can do to make your life easier. It’s time to finally take advantage of having great credit!
1) Lower Your Interest Rates
If you started out in the 600s or lower, you might’ve been paying through the nose. But now that you have great credit and you’ve proven yourself over many years of on-time payments, it’s time to seek you reward. Contact all of your credit card providers and anyone you have a loan with. Refinance your car. Lower the interest on your mortgage. All of these are possible! Not only will you be paying less interest, you can renegotiate to lower the monthly payments as well, saving you tons of money each month.
2) Get a Better Credit Card
Something people with bad credit have to do is settle for credit cards that aren’t too favorable for them. As stated above, they most likely jacked up the interest, which means you’re paying through the nose. But as you graduate to having great credit, you now qualify for all the amazing rewards and perks you hear about in commercials. The cash back, points towards trips, and all the other things they promise. And, again, lower interest! Higher limits.
3) Check Out Your Auto Insurance Rates
For some messed up reason, a lot of auto insurers tie the auto rate you pay to your credit score. The lower the credit score, the more you’re paying for auto insurance. It’s worth making a phone call to your insurer now that you have excellent credit to see if you can get your auto rate lowered to something easier to handle.
4) Upgrade the Vehicle
Another area where you can rake in the benefits is upgrading your vehicle. With bad credit, you had high interest and monthly payments. It’s a far cry from all the perks they talk about in the commercials. They might offer lower payments and all kinds of upgrades, but those only go towards those with perfect credit. Now that you do, you can upgrade and get a low monthly rate along with 0% interest!
