by Grace Mirchandani

Created on: July 02, 2008   Last Updated: February 21, 2009

You have bad credit. So what, right? A lot of people have bad credit. What's the big deal anyway? If you don't think that having bad credit will effect your life than you are WRONG!

Bad credit can affect your life in many ways. You get around a dozen collection phone calls a week. You are stressed and overwhelmed at how quickly your credit got out of control. You have been embarrassed in public because of your credit. Have you ever been in a retail store and tried to apply for a store credit card but did not qualify?

Chances are that you were rejected because you have bad credit. It is pretty embarrassing when the clerk hands you back your application and he or she tells you that you have been denied.

Being approved for a store credit card is not nearly as important as being approved for things like home and car loans. If your credit is bad than you will most probably get declined for both. This creates a spiral effect.

Here is one possible senario:

If you do not have the credit required to purchase a home, then you will be forced to rent. Most landlords have become strict about who they will rent to. A lot of them perform credit checks so even renting with bad credit can be an issue. While renting, you are not earning equity on your monthly payments like you would if you own your home.

You need a car to get to work but because you have bad credit, you do not qualify to finance a new one. The car you can afford might not be a reliable form of transportation. It may make it difficult for you to maintain a job.

As far as jobs go, a lot of businesses require credit checks before they will hire you. If your credit is bad, you might not be able to find a job that can pay you what you need to make.

It is easy to see how difficult it is to repair bad credit. If you are not making enough at your job, paying to fix your car constantly, and dumping money into rent every month, then how do you save the funds needed to pay off the debt that ruined your credit in the first place?

Having bad credit is like digging a hole that seems too deep to get out of.
The best thing to do is to keep your credit in good standings in the first place. If your credit is already bad, all you can do is your best to pay off your balances and maintain timely payments on all of your current accounts.

It is important to improve your credit as quickly as possible but don't get too overwelmed. It takes a while.

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