The approach of the golden years in a lifetime brings both relief and anxiety for folks. Most people welcome the relief they hope it will bring them from the years of hard work, building assets, discharging parental responsibilities, and they look forward to a routine-altering lifestyle, which frees them from the daily grind they have become accustomed to. However, it also evokes a degree of anxiety about health, about having accumulated enough wealth and resources to live the rest of their lives as they have hoped for.
Old-Fashioned Wisdom
If you are among the fortunate group of seniors and close-to-retirement people, people who have managed to work successfully towards a goal of savings and assets, accomplished a debt-free life with loans and mortgages paid off, children raised that are faring well on their own, and are in fairly stable health yourself, you have achieved the most rosy scenario a retiree can hope to get. Unforeseen situations excluded, you are indeed ready to slide into the next phase of your fruitful life. The dream is yours to live.
Hark the Unforeseen
All is well with your plans, and you don’t expect to ever have to borrow money again. Maybe you won’t need another mortgage, but would you want to rent an apartment somewhere warmer, perhaps? Or your grandson or granddaughter’s high school graduation is on the horizon, and you would like to help them with a college loan, as a co-signer? The last thing on your mind may be your credit-worthiness. After all, you have zero debt, why would a bank refuse you the right to co-sign your grandchild’s loan? You haven’t used a credit card in months, or maybe never, because you pay cash for purchases – a good practice, until that bank decides to run a credit check on you, and finds no history. That’s where you run into problems! No credit history equals no borrowing power. The unforeseen has just occurred.
Don’t Let Your Credit Score Slip Away
Traditionally, most seniors today have lived their life by the principle of not spending beyond their means and budgeting carefully. They are the better off for it, with a lighter heart and fewer financial burdens. Not anticipating the need for any credit at this point in their lives, they may discard any credit cards, or simply let them fall into disuse. Therein lies the pitfall. Even with the best of financial standing, and lack of debt, you can be declined a loan, or be asked to pay hefty upfront security for a rental, unless you keep a credit score.
It isn’t the end of the world, but it can be unnecessarily aggravating if a simple thing like the having no credit score hinders you when you least expect it to. If you need credit to buy a new appliance or just want to get better insurance rates, your credit score matters. Once you’ve spruced up your score, visit AverageCostofCarInsurance.com to see just how much better your rate can get.
