What’s your credit score? This is something we hear a lot when making larger purchases, but what exactly is a credit score anyway? There are a number of things that come into play to determine what your total score is, but here is a simple definition. A credit score is merely how well you pay back debt.
It’s that simple! The better your score means you are more likely to pay back the loan in the scheduled time. Since this is a measure of how well you pay back loans, wouldn’t a better name be a debt score? Paying back money owed to other people over a certain amount of time (Debt) can really add unnecessary stress in your life. This stress can damage our relationships in marriages, kids, relatives, friends, and pretty much anyone we are close to. It can lead to divorce, resentment, anxiety, depression, and many other unhealthy conditions in our lives.
Society has drilled into our subconscious minds that we need a good credit score to be considered successful. I mean after all, with good credit we can purchase anything we want, right? Live the American dream. Is it really the American dream to live a life strapped by the chains of debt? Or is the American dream to live a life that is debt free?
I’m not sure about you, but I’m not a fan of the debt lifestyle. I desire a lifestyle where I’m not worried about my credit score to prove my self-worth and success. I want to be the one who sets my success criteria, not some made up debt score! The only way to obtain this lifestyle is to not be 100% reliant on debt to live our lives. By learning to live without debt and sticking to a financial plan, most if not all, our financial stresses are reduced significantly. Imagine what a difference this would make in your life. Take some time and dream about what this would be like for you.
It’s not easy to get to this point where we aren’t relying on going into debt for most purchases, but it is possible! This kind of lifestyle goes completely against what society has deemed normal, but doing the few things listed below will get you moving in the right direction:
1) Make a decision to live on a budget
2) Start planning for purchases using what we call Future Use Funds
3) Decide debt is not for you
Getting over the feeling of relying on our good credit score to feel a sense of worth can be challenging, especially when everything we do seems to rely on our credit score. I’m not saying your credit score isn’t relevant; it just shouldn’t be how you define your financial success. Once you have defined success for you, you will not only feel better about yourself, you will also have a goal to help provide vision for your life.
For more information regarding credit scores visit: https://www.myfico.com/credit-education/credit-scores
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