Your Credit Rating Affects Your Life

It used to be that a credit score affected only financial matters, such as your ability to get a loan or a mortgage. However, today your credit score can follow you to almost every aspect of your life, preventing you from renting an apartment, getting cable TV or even keeping you from your dream job. Here are some of the ways that bad credit history can wreak havoc with your life.

Job Application — Applying for your dream job? Better make sure your credit is in shape. These days it is not enough to be a good job candidate. More than half of companies will check candidates' credit score before they make a job offer. With hundreds of applications for every job, your career can't afford a bad FICO score. Employers reason that a credit problem will cause stress that will negatively impact your ability to do the job. A bad credit score also reflects poorly on your character and organizational skills. Employers surmise that if you can't manage your personal credit, you might not do your job well either. If you are getting ready to apply for a job, be sure to check with the credit bureaus to insure that the information they have is accurate. If you have credit problems, take immediate measures to repair your score. Document your efforts so you can provide them to prospective employers.

Auto Insurance — Your credit scores will affect your auto insurance rate. Insurers cite a strong statistical correlation between credit rating and risk of loss for the insurer. When you apply for auto insurance, the insurer will based your premium rates on your credit score. However, inquiries made by insurers do not affect your credit rating, as do loan applications.

Cell Phone Contracts — Cell phone providers have gradually gotten stricter about credit requirements for their prospective customers. If your credit is not good enough, you may have to pay a deposit that can range from $250 to $500. Or you may even be limited to prepaid phone contracts, which have a higher per minute cost.

Apartment or House Leasing or Renting — Most rental or leasing agencies require your social security number on your application. They will run a credit check to see if you have had bankruptcy, eviction, collections or other credit problems. Your application might be rejected, or you may have to pay a higher deposit.

Utilities — Water, electricity, phone (land lines), gas, internet, cable television and garbage pickup are services that you need in your day to day existence. These utility companies will ask for your social security number and permission to run a credit history when you are applying for service. While most will give you service, you will have to pay a large deposit if your credit score is low.

With the significant consequences that your FICO score has on your everyday life, you need to guard your score like the important asset it is. If you have had financial problems that have caused you to have a lower score, now is the time to take the necessary measures to repair your score. Until you can bring your score back to health, you can expect to pay more for the basics in your life.