What Do Your Credit Scores Have To Do With Luck?
Some people think of me as a pretty financially shrewd guy, but it doesn’t take a genius to do this. I make money. I save money. I don’t borrow money. Do it in that order. That’s the formula.
I have always saved my coins and paid cash for any discretionary purchase. Even when I have used credit cards, I did so only to earn rewards and points; balances were always paid in full every month. Same thing with all bills: paid on time and in full. For my ability to do this, I am grateful and consider myself lucky. It is so easy to fall into a hole. It has happened to friends of mine who are just as smart, skillful, and diligent as I like to think I am.
Recently I went into business for myself. This meant I had to borrow money because the sad fact of the matter is that you need money to cover operating costs, and the cash flow is not always even or sufficient.
Again, I consider myself lucky because I did not have to borrow a lot of money and have been able to quickly pay my debt down thus far (touch wood). Moreover, I have been able to borrow at great interest rates thanks to my good credit scores which were a matter of luck.
The word “lucky” keeps appearing because success always hinges on it to some extent. As a result of my good luck, I was able to borrow money at favorable rates. My insurance premiums are lower. I have probably even gotten jobs and contracts because the customer or employer checked my credit.
“Wait a minute,” you might be thinking, “what does a good credit rating have to do with luck?”
For most people, very little — they pay their bills on time. Of course, you have to be a little lucky to be able to make enough money to do that, especially nowadays, but I digress.
The element of good fortune: I never checked my credit reports and scores. I mean, I never checked them once in all those years. Errors and blemishes find their way into even the most prudent people’s records. Do you know how lucky I was? Very. Even a small error or two would have cost me many thousands of dollars.
Whether you are trying to maintain a good credit rating or improve a bad one, it is important to know what the credit bureaus are saying about you. Your credit scores are a big part of your reputation, and your reputation is everything.
