A higher credit score can mean qualifying for lower interest rates and better terms, enabling you to borrow money without accumulating thousands of dollars of debt on top of it. It’s true, you need a good credit score to borrow money for personal reasons, like a home loan, car loan, or credit card today, as well as making inventory purchases, facility leases, or even starting your own business.

With bad credit, things like car loans and home payments become more expensive and drawn-out, saddled with interest rates that will break your bank account over time. Institutions like insurance companies have grounds to charge you more with a bad credit score, cheating you out of your hard-earned money because of the number associated with your personal payment responsibility.