Few of us have managed through this falling economy without taking a hit to our credit score. Lenders are tightening their belts and asking for even higher credit scores before they will extend credit.
Unemployment, stagnant wages, along with the skyrocketing cost of everything has shaken the credit scores of even the steadiest consumers. If it is difficult for those who have good credit to make it in these hard economic times, what should people with bad credit expect?
The first thing is obvious. It’s going to be harder to get credit. A lot of people can’t get financing to buy that badly needed new car especially folks with a low credit score. So, even if you need a new car, you may not be able to get one unless you go to a predatory lender.
The bad news, even if you can get financed, the interest rate will be higher than it would have been this time last year because lenders have restructured and they’re offering the best rates to those with extremely high credit scores. An average score might have secured a decent rate in the past, but in today’s lending market an average score is equivalent to what used to be considered a poor score.
People with poor credit also find it difficult to purchase insurance at a decent rate. Auto, home, health and life insurance can all be affected by your credit score. Why? Because many insurance companies believe that there is a link between low credit scores and claims. They feel that people with lower scores tend to file more insurance claims.
