Top 10 Best Things About Having a Good Credit Score
There is much more to having a high credit score than just possessing a three-digit number you can brag about. Your credit score represents buying power. The higher your credit score, the more purchasing power you have.Even when income is constant, a high credit score means you can potentially live in a larger house and drive a nicer car than someone with a low credit score.
A high credit score is a golden ticket in our credit-driven society. Here is a list of the top 10 benefits of having good credit.
If you don't have a good credit score, that could ruin your dream of starting your own business.
The average American household carries about $10,000 in credit card debt. Making $250 monthly payments on a credit card with a 10 percent interest rate, it would take 49 months to pay off the debt, with the total payment being over $12,000.
With a 20 percent interest rate, it would take 67 months, and the total payment would be almost $17,000. It's pretty obvious how much benefit there is to having the lower interest rate you can get with a better credit score.
With a good credit score, you can get approved for a lower interest rate on a home loan that will save you a significant amount of money. We're talking about a few hundred dollars a month, which can add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars over a 30-year mortgage.
Saving money with low interest.
Of course, in today's economy, you need a pretty good credit score to get approved for a home loan in the first place. Forget about interest rates. Unless you have a decent credit score or a substantial amount of money for a down payment, you're not getting approved at all.
Like an A on a report card, a high credit score just feels good.
Gotta have that self-esteem.
Most landlords will check your credit. If it's not good, expect to pay a large security deposit or be turned away entirely.
This works like home loans but on a smaller scale. A better credit score means a lower interest rate, so you either save money each month or can commit more money to the principal to afford a nicer car.
Many employers also look at your credit score. If you have a bad credit history, you may be out of luck when it comes to landing that new dream job.
Car insurance companies look at your credit score as an indicator of risk. The lower your credit score, the more likely they think you are to get into an accident, so they will charge you more for insurance.