Many people never check their credit score, and some never look at it at all.
It's easy to underestimate how important a good credit score is, but the truth is, unless you have a high income and can pay cash for everything, your credit score determines the quality of your life. Here are some of the ways:
Power to bargain, borrowing:
Have you ever gone to a market to buy things? Notice how many sellers were trying to get your attention, each trying to persuade you that theirs was the best deal, best quality, etc. Well, in this case, you have the power. They both have the same product, and all you have to do is choose between them. If you use your power, you can often get the price to go down or get more goods than what you were told.
If you look closely, you can find similar patterns in almost every part of life. When it comes to credit (like loans, credit cards, etc.), your credit score is the best way to measure how valuable you are as a customer.
If you took the time to count, you might find that there are hundreds of credit card companies out there, and they all want more customers.
If you have good credit, it's like being able to buy things at a market: credit card companies are willing to outbid each other to get your business. This is shown by perks like no interest on purchases, no interest on balance transfers, air miles, reward points, and many others.
But if you have bad credit, you won't be able to get any of these perks. In fact, most lenders will just avoid you. People who lend money to people with bad credit usually charge double the interest that people with good credit pay.
Deals and special offers:
Recently, shops and supermarkets have started doing the same thing. In order to sell you that new fridge or sofa, retailers are now offering "interest-free periods" where you don't have to pay anything up front. But, you can only get this deal if you have good credit. People with bad credit will have to pay the full price up front.
Some lenders will let people with bad credit buy cars, but they have to pay higher interest rates. This means that the person with bad credit pays more for the same car.
Employment:
This one is a little strange, but some employers think it's important to look at your credit score before deciding whether or not to hire you. Maybe they want to know if you'll steal money from the company or if you'll ask for a pay raise because you're not making enough money.
As you can see, if you have bad credit, life costs a little more, while if you have good credit, you might even benefit from all the tricks lenders use to get new customers.
So, work on your credit score, and if you already have a good one, use it to your benefit.
