What is the cost of bad credit?

Example B's total lifetime penalty for poor credit? Over $250,000!! The above example underestimates the true financial costs of poor credit:

● Interest rates in the example are from 2004 - a time when interest rates were at record lows. Higher rates are now prevailing.

● Example B probably paid insurance premiums that were 20-30 percent higher than Example A's, and he/she might of had trouble finding an apartment, all because of his/her credit score.

● The example does not count "opportunity costs" - what Example B could of bought if he/she was not paying so much more interest.

Since more of Example B's paycheck went to lenders, he/she has less money available for other goals: vacation, a second home, college education for children, and retirement. We do not want to see you waste anymore money.