Living the life of luxury and buying what you want, when you want is all well and good until it all finally catches up with you of course. Suddenly, the unnecessary spending seems like the worst thing you could have done and you’ll be tasked with having to explain to your kids why you can’t get them a new school uniform this year.
(Side note: teaching your kids about being responsible with money is hugely important and if you start now, you might be helping them to avoid the very same mistakes you’ve made that have led you here.)
Once you’ve sorted out a way to get food on the table this month, you must, must, MUST continue reading so that you can identify why having a low credit rating is so bad so that you’re determined to fix it.
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- Getting loans is going to be an uphill battle
When you have a bad credit score, obtaining a loan seems like an impossible task, and that’s because it usually is. The lower the score, the more you’re going to struggle to find a lender who will offer you a loan.
- You’ll be paying higher amounts of interest
If you’ve been applying desperately for loans and being faced with rejection time and time again, to then find that you’ve been accepted, you’re likely to take whatever you can and run with it. The problem with having a bad credit score is that you’ll encounter the really bad deals that come hand in hand with extortionately high interest rates. It’s well known that mortgage providers save their best loans (the ones with the lowest amount of interest) for buyers who have both a good credit score and a hefty deposit.
- Getting a roof over your head will be rather difficult
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Most landlords will want to run a credit check on you before you both sign above the dotted line and nothing will put a potential landlord off more than a wannabe tenant who has an awful credit score. Think about it – why would they want you living under their roof when you’ve proven in the past that you aren’t great with keeping up with payments or that you require the use of credit cards to help you get by from week to week?
If you do manage to find a landlord who’s happy to let you rent a place, you’ll probably find that you have a much smaller choice as landlords have previously admitted that they save their best properties for those with higher credit scores.
- The pre employment credit check isn’t going to be successful
So you’ve wowed your potential new employers during the interview process and they are all set and ready to offer you the job. A pre employment credit check is all part of the usual screening process during the hiring process as your employer will want to ensure that you don’t pose a risk to the business. They’ll be looking to see whether there’s any history of financial mismanagement and if it shows that you have a super low credit score, you might find that you never get that call with the job offer after all, even though you were certain you had it in the bag.
A study found that one in seven people have been told that they were denied a job due to a poor credit rating and if you’re applying for a job that involves dealing with money, government agencies or security clearance, you will definitely struggle to come out on top if your credit rating isn’t looking great to potential employers. You may want to consider using a credit repair agency or getting a full Lexington Law review
- Many a missed call
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You might also struggle to get a mobile phone contract. Whilst there are bigger and more important things to worry about (like finding a paying job and a place to live), not being able to have a phone is also a huge problem.Practically everyone these days has a phone and those who don’t are always met with suspicion. Mobile phone and network providers pay close attention when it comes to credit scores and if yours is bad, you’re far less likely to get yourself a month-to-month longer term (usually the cheaper ones in the long run) mobile phone plan.