You may know that poor credit will cost you.  But do you know how much?

If you have a credit report with negative information and low credit scores, you will pay more for many things, including:

• Loans—you will likely pay a higher interest than someone with good credit.  You may also have to pay additional fees.
• Credit cards—as with loans, you will have a higher interest rate on everything you charge, and you will probably have to pay additional fees just to get and maintain the card.
• Utilities—you may have to pay higher deposits to get connected to utilities.
• Services such as cell phone and television—you may not be offered premium plans and may often be charged more for less service.
• Insurance—you may higher insurance premiums for automobile and life insurance.
• Rent—you may have to pay a higher deposit to rent an apartment.
• Employment—you may be denied an interview, a job, or a promotion if you have poor credit.  If you are applying for a job or promotion that requires security clearance, you may not qualify due to your credit.

In other words, poor credit will cost you money, lost opportunities, and may result in lower quality services.  To see an estimate of how much money poor credit may cost you, try this lifetime cost of debt calculator.

To lessen or avoid some of these costs, consider strategies to improve your credit.  Once you have good credit, make a plan to maintain it [insert link to 5.4].