Why You Do Need A Good Credit Score Even if You Don’t Use Credit

An excellent credit score is important. Perhaps if you have cash to pay for everything in life, it’s not that important. However, it’s important even if you do have the cash for things like that. Even if you never plan on using credit for anything over the course of your entire life, you still need a good credit score. Why? Because if you want to work in many industries and continue to work in high-paying career fields, you need a good credit score. Did you know that certain employers will not hire you if your credit is bad?

One of the biggest and most substantial mistakes so many people make in life is assuming that they do not care about their credit if they don’t plan on using it. It matters more than you might think. I know so many people are sitting around reading this right now thinking that I’m overreacting and not really talking about anything important. Are you sitting here right now thinking that you never want a car payment, so you’ll always pay cash? Or that you inherited your grandmother’s paid-for home when she passed so you’ll never need a mortgage?

Good for you. That is actually quite amazing, and it’s something we all think you should be proud of. However, I still maintain that you are not going to be able to get through life without a good credit score. Before you continue to write me off, just hear me out. I’m about to present you with a few facts, and they might just blow your mind.

Insurance Rates

For many years I, too, thought that the only things that affected insurance rates were things that directly related to said insurance. For example, I assumed that my health insurance and my life insurance rates were directly related to my health. I’m not a smoker, I’m in good shape and I take care of myself. I always assumed my car insurance rates are so low because I am a good driver age 32 who has never gotten a ticket for anything, and who has never been involved in a car accident that was my fault.

These things do affect my insurance rates, but it’s also something that takes into consideration my credit score. Did you know that? Not every insurance company checks your credit before issuing you a rate quote, but many do.

Careers

We did gloss over this a bit in the intro. You might be able to get any job you want as a massage therapist who works at a hotel without good credit. You might be able to get that job at Nordstrom or as a teacher or even at McDonalds, but you’re not getting a job at a bank with a low credit score. You’re not getting a job in almost any financial industry without a good credit score. Why? Because you are a risky employee if you owe a lot of money to different lenders. Let’s just say that a bank doesn’t want you to have that kind of access to cash when you are clearly strapped for it yourself.

Not all companies and employers check your credit score prior to issuing you a job, but many do. This could affect your future if you allow it, and that’s why you do need to be concerned about your credit score.

Utilities

When my husband and I bought our dream house a year and-a-half ago, I made it my business to head to the local utility company to turn on our utilities. When the woman explained to me that she had to have my Social, I was confused. Why? It’s electric. It turns out, they have to run your credit, too, so that they can determine what kind of potential customer they are dealing with. If the credit score that showed up on my report was low, I’d have to pay a high deposit to have my utilities turned on. Because it’s not low, I was able to just open my utility service without issue.

Rentals

One more quick mention discussing why you need to be very careful with your credit even if you do plan on paying cash for all things. If you don’t own a home, you might want to rent an apartment or a home. Many apartment complexes and homeowners check your credit to see if you are a reliable tenant, and chances of them giving you the keys to their home or building are very slim when your credit score comes back very low.

You might not want to use credit to finance anything you own, and that’s something we applaud. However, it is still imperative that you pay close attention to your credit so that you are able to get a job, turn on your utilities and live a comfortable life.

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