As you graduate from college and slowly become a young professional one topic that will always be apart of your life is your credit rating.
You may be in any of the following situations as you read this:
- Never had a credit card.
- Got into credit card.
- Responsible credit card user.
Here’s the thing: A credit rating is very important for young professionals.
Why? The main reason is money. Everything comes down to money and if you could be trusted with money.
The following are the three most important aspects of your credit rating as a 20 something.
Landlords run a credit rating review before they allow you to move into a rental unit.
A landlord takes a major risk when they allow a 20 something into their rental property.
I know you’re a college graduate so that should make you a genius, right? Well that’s not how older people feel about us.
The landlord wants proof that there’s a great probability that you will be able to pay your monthly rent. You could argue until your blue in the face about how you’re a good person but that doesn’t mean anything to a landlord if your credit rating sucks and you’re stuck in massive debt.
Employers check your credit rating to see if you’re reliable.
You may not see it as a big deal if you have a history of missing credit card payments or closing credit card accounts, but your potential employer definitely will. Put it this way- say if 100 young professionals apply for the same job, if a good percentage of them have a good credit score and you don’t then the odds are against you for getting the job.
You could argue with the employer that it’s not fair that you’re being judged by your credit rating but the bottom line is that there are at plenty of other college graduates behind you going after the same job.
Banks look at your credit rating when giving out any type of loan
Loans for bad credit are hard to come by especially during this current economic recession (yes I know you shouldn’t blame the recession for everything but I think it’s fair to say that bank loans have been affected by the recession).
How’s a bank supposed to loan you money if they see you have a history of not making credit card payments? Or a history of late payments?
The problem is that loans in general are hard to come by, but what if you want to start a family and purchase a home? You will almost likely not get approved for the mortgage if your credit rating is in the toilet. Even if you want a loan to buy a car you found for a hot deal, your bad credit rating will prevent the bank from loaning you a couple grand.
A good credit score is more important than you may have thought before reading this article.