They should have known not to give me credit.

 

"It may be

funny but he

who laughs

last, laughs

best."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Once you go black, your credit goes whack." "Imma put it in my momma name." "My parents gave me bad credit before I was 18." "Aint no more room on my credit report...what chu goin staple sum s**t on my credit report." “They should have known not to give me credit.”  These are only a few jokes I have heard from African American comedians over the years.  While these are jokes from a stage for most African Americans it is life's reality.

According to National Foundation for Credit Counseling, 2009 Financial Literacy Survey, Twenty-six percent of Americans, admit to not paying all of their bills on time, but among African-Americans, it is an amazing fifty-one percent.  More than half of blacks do not pay their bills on time! This equates to the majority of African Americans possessing bad credit. 

In today's society credit has transcended finances. Credit effects every facet of life. Credit is more than a score issued by Experian, Trans Union, Equifax, the three major credit bureau's in the United States.  Credit signifies whether you can be trusted. It is your reputation, your name, credit is your character.  

For example, if you loan me your vehicle and I return it two hours late, its dirty, and it's running rough, chances are you will not loan me your vehicle again.  My creditability (ability to obtain credit) is ruined even though no money changed hands.

Now when you tell your friends, they

probably will not allow me to use their vehicle or anything else for that matter. Why, because of what you told them about me. My ability to borrow is ruined with anyone you know because my name, my credit, my reputation is garbage in the area of returning items on time.   This is the same with your credit score.

When you ruin your credit you have ruined your name, your reputation, your character. Your word is no longer good.  You look to be irresponsible and untrustworthy.  Studies have shown that people with lower credit scores have more claims on insurance and they do not perform well in an unsupervised work enviroment. Centain crimes have also been associated with people with lower credit scores resulting in them not being trusted with certain security clearances.  As a result, people who suffer from bad credit receive higher insurance policies, can not receive some jobs, and can not work in certain fields.  This is not to mention the financial effects of having bad credit.

People with bad credit have higher interest rates on every product financed: houses, cars, credit cards, business loans, insurance rates and personal loans.  This reults in them having less cash to live or produce wealth. Some land-lords will not rent to people with lower scores, forcing them to live in less desirable neighborhoods and lower school districts. It is increasingly hard to build wealth with a low credit score because most of your surplus is eaten up by higher interest rates and rents.

Now this is not to say that people who have been divorced, sick, loss jobs, suffered a loss, or declared bankruptcy are bad people or untrustworthy.  I'm not saying I agree with the studies, because I don't.  I'm simply stating how the credit game works and the consequences of a low score.

So the next time you laugh about or at someone with bad credit, including yourself; remember that he who laughs last laughs best. Increase your score and you will laugh all the way to the bank as you save money and build wealth in almost every facet of life.