HI... We're starting something new. We wouldn't be deserving of the renaissance label if we didn't have our finger on the pules of things that are current topics and important, thought-provoking conversations. So, we're starting a new series called "Let's Just Talk". Here we go..
Millennials have been severely lied to. Blindly or not, we have trusted our parents, our guardians, our teachers, administrators, and politicians to give us the truth about what it really means to be an adult in America. Every millennial knew, growing up, that there was a key to being a successful citizen of the United States. It wasn’t voting or paying taxes. It was that with a great credit rating; you could have it all.
Before we were 18, credit scores seemed like a figment of our imagination. It was some figure we couldn’t grasp the concept of. So we lived life as we knew it; struggling with acne, learning to drive, going on dates, breaking up two months later, applying to university, turning 18, and then it slowly begins. You get those flashy invitations to all the major credit card companies promising you riches, rewards and luxury that you didn’t have yesterday but could instantly attain in the matter of minutes. It all rested on your credit score which most likely was virginal at that point. You apply, you get approved, and within days you receive a packed envelope with your new lease to things you could never afford before. You’re finally those people you admired from TV. Along with it came numbers, percentages, and terms like APR and Equifax that look more foreign to you than an extraterrestrial. We weren’t prepared for this! They never told us about these late fees and interests. There was no class on creditworthiness!
“Just always pay your bills on time and you’ll be fine”, they said. Easier said than done! Now we have at least one credit card entering university. As if just getting through the academic stuff isn’t tough enough, any average student knows the struggle of the impoverishing college method. There are three tiers: tuition/books, student loans, and a social life. So, we get an on-campus job to keep up with our costs of living. Then life happens. It happens to the best of us. I always prided myself on my work ethic, my drive, my attention to detail, self-sufficiency and ability to manage. All this meant that failure was soon approaching. They don’t tell you that you may max out your credit card at any point for a car repair or that you may owe your creditor a large sum of money for that plane ticket you had to buy to get yourself from being stranded in a foreign country. So you miss a payment because your bank account is on life-support and you have to choose to eat or pay your credit card bill. Then they tack on late fees and the next month you’re put at an even bigger deficit. The “charge it!” illusion vanishes and you begin to get notices of your now damaged credit score. The dream of getting into that beautiful home and that nice new car are now alluding you and become ashes of your former dreams. You are a failure.
This is not true. You are not a failure. You’re a survivor. The world we are living in is much different than the one our parents grew up in. The economy is different and financial institutions are different. The breadwinner of the family has changed in some cases, families look different, higher education is more expensive, and the job market is shrinking. The one thing that has remained the same is the human’s innate ability to make mistakes. That’s OK.
Credit scores are important because they are cornerstone to our society. Every millennial needs to be educated on what it means to have good credit, bad credit, average credit, and everywhere in between. Think of it this way. Credit scores range from 300 to 900 and are your report cards on how well you handle money. The types of places that are keeping track of your “financial grades” are landlords, mobile phone companies, creditors, and banks from which you can receive a loan. They report your status to bodies like Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian in the US. These three are the major groups that basically house all your little doings and keep track of how financially adept an individual has been. It’s your job to be in the know of what your credit score looks like. Ignorance isn’t bliss. Know your credit score in order to change the narrative of your story from failure to success.
You are not your credit score. You will grow and learn from your mistakes much quicker than your credit score will change. Failure is a redirection to your proper path. Don’t allow yourself to be ruled by 3 numbers. They can change. Sometimes that credit score means that you went on a wild, once in a lifetime adventure in Europe, that you had way too many outings with your soon to be spouse in university, or that you might have partied a little too hard that weekend. Do you regret the memories made? Take it for what it is. You can still attain your American dream. Do the work. Make good decisions, communicate with your creditors, get smarter, learn what you can afford and what you can’t, make a financial plan, reduce your spending, but above all continue to live life because that’s what it’s really all about. As millennials, we’ll have a story different from the one we were told and so will the generation after us. Write YOUR best-seller.