by Trent Johnson


Your credit score is something that really shouldn't be taken lightly. While having a high credit score will be very beneficial for you, the opposite can be said about having a low credit score. In fact, having a low credit score is like cancer, and only gets worse and worse unless you can take care of it before it takes over your life. Having a bad credit history has many dire effects that will change the course of your life.

As your credit history starts to look bad, your options begin to start being bad as well. The places you can go to look for loans will now become so restricted that when you finally do find a bank to approve you of getting a credit card or loan, you can be sure the interest rates will be ridiculously high. With such high interest rates, you can't expect to reap any benefits from using them. If you, by chance, miss one of your monthly payments, you'll find yourself paying much more than you're capable of and will risk lowering your credit score by even more. Don't be fooled by the terms and conditions that come with credit card applications. Although they guarantee 6-18 months of 0% APR, with a low credit score, you can expect it to be more along the lines of 6 months than the 18 months they would offer someone with higher credit.

As you know, failing to pay off your outstanding balances will just decrease your credit score even more, and you'll just wind up even worse off than you started. The benefits of having high credit surely outweigh the disadvantages of having low credit, so it's definitely in your favor to increase your cred score as much as you can. Credit card rewards are usually only offered to people with higher credit scores than those with lower ones. You'll also have other benefits with credit services, such as a longer duration of 0% APR with your credit cards. Instead of getting the 6 months you may get with low credit, you could get up to 18 months with high credit.

There is almost nothing you can do independently when you have a poor credit score. Even utilities and apartment landlords inspect your credit before they give you their services. For instance, apartment landlords will run your name through a credit check before they decide whether or not to allow you to live there. And if you somehow miraculously get approved by the landlord, the utility companies will check your credit score and have you pay a security deposit based on your credit information. With a bad credit score, you can expect not being able to stay in one place for too long, and having to move through various homes and paying utility deposits over and over. You also won't be able to start your own business due to the fact that you will have such high insurance premiums and won't be able to take out business loans.

All of this is just unnecessary stress that can be avoided as long as you take care of your credit score and don't let it slip. If you do make a mistake, take care of it early before it gets too far out of hand, because let's face it; you're going to have to settle this sooner or later, and the longer you wait, the more drastic the disadvantages become.




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