So you’re probably sitting there asking yourself: What is credit? Do I need it? Why?

It can be a big pain to build credit, maintain credit, etc. Trust me. I didn’t even realize it until I was a senior in college. I fell into the category of “I need money NOW” during undergrad, got the money from credit cards, spent it, and threw all of the bills into my dust-covered “To Do” pile.

Now if any of you reading this are typical college students, you know that the “To Do” pile consists of assignments due the next day, and thats about it.

Besides getting your degree, there isn’t anything more important to do during your undergrad career than maintaining your credit rating. Once you graduate, you will either go to grad school or get a job. If you choose the grad school route (which I did) you’ll need credit to get an apartment and get student loans.

If you choose getting a job, you’ll need credit to get an apartment or house, get a car, and now, some employers have started doing credit checks on applicants. Think about it: if you couldn’t be trusted with your own money, why should you be trusted with the company’s?

So what influences your credit score? Answer: Pretty much everything money related.

• Spending patterns
• Saving patterns
• Loan repayment
• Interest
• Amount of Credit Card used
• Debt

Yeah, thats right, EVERYTHING. You think The Patriot Act watches over you? This system has been around since the 1950s. Everytime you spend money, receive money, or think about money, the credit bureaus know.

Next time you put a large purchase on your credit card, and think you’re going to pay it off soon, think again.

The interest rates will kill you. How? Learn more.

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