Military Finance Report: Why Do I Need a Good Credit Score?

Pages

Sunday, June 30, 2013

Why Do I Need a Good Credit Score?

Some people are very scared of credit and they are right to be scared of it.  But not having any credit can cost you as much as having bad credit.  In my opinion, our current financial system "rewards" people for over utilizing credit.  I've always called it "playing the game".  But here's why living without credit can be costly.

Without "playing the game" you will have a low credit score just like those with bad credit from credit "mistakes".  Having a low credit score can quite literally cost you thousands of dollars.  Using MyFico's national averages today, a $250,000 house with a 760-850 (the max bracket) credit score at a 4.025% interest rate will cost you $1,197 a month in a mortgage payment and you will pay $180K in interest over 30 years.  A credit score of 700-759 will cost you $1,229 a month and you will pay $192K in interest...over $12K more in interest.

Here's a breakdown of what the score brackets will cost you:

 
Image/Calculator courtesy of MyFico.com http://www.myfico.com/myfico/CreditCentral/LoanRates.aspx

1 comment:

  1. The problem is that credit is a slippery slope and for most the temptation of putting everything on credit is too great! However, if one is responsible enough to handle getting the "good deal" and paying it off without the extra interest then they can do what you are saying.
    This system sucks because those who can't keep themselves from getting into an abusive credit relationship can end up spending thousands that they might "save" in the above senario, in interest on their purchases.

    ReplyDelete