'Perfect 10? Never Mind That. Ask Her for Her Credit Score'

Submitted by Matt on Wed, 2012-12-26 21:09

Article here. Great idea. These days, you don't want to get stuck with someone who may be both financially irresponsible or unwilling to pull her own financial weight. Traditionally, men have been expected to supply the cash and/or ignore or tolerate their wife's/fiancee's/gf's financial irresponsibilities or ignorance. No more. (But guess who's still largely expected to pay for the dates?) And if she won't talk about her credit score or seems evasive? Big red flag. Excerpt:

'Dating someone with poor credit can have real implications. Banks remain wary of making loans to borrowers with tarnished scores, typically 660 and below; the best scores range from 800 to 850, and scores above 750 are considered good. A low score could quash dreams of buying a house, and result in steep interest rates, up to 29 percent, for credit cards, car financing and other unsecured loans.
...
Lauren Dollard, a 26-year-old assistant at a nonprofit in Houston, said her low credit score had helped to stall her romantic plans. Her boyfriend is wary of marrying her until she can significantly pay down the more than $150,000 she owes in student loans and bolster her credit score, she said.

Ms. Dollard’s credit score is so low, around 600, that she hasn’t been able to qualify for a car loan. She sympathizes with her boyfriend’s position because he “doesn’t ever want to be accountable for the irresponsible financial decision I made,” she said. Her boyfriend declined to be interviewed.'

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Comments

I applaud this tendency to increasingly consider the character of one's dates. Men should always seriously consider the character of the women they date, see socially, or hook up with. If the woman acts weird, has a criminal history, is violent, is disrespectful (especially toward men), is exploitative, is acting entitled, or lies, then just let her be. Take the time to find out about her before getting sexually involved.

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Submitted by redwoodwriter on Thu, 2012-12-27 03:40

"Her boyfriend is wary of marrying her until she can significantly pay down the more than $150,000 she owes in student loans and bolster her credit score, she said."

I wouldn't want to marry someone and a couple years later have to fight an expensive legal battle to keep from having to assume her debts. And I definitely wouldn't want to get involved with someone who owes 150 grand in student loans but takes a job at a nonprofit. It's got nothing to do with her financial past, as the article implies, and everything to do with my future. I wouldn't even care if she had a low credit score. If she was young, faithful, and beautiful, had decent job prospects and manageable levels of debt, that would be great. Overall I think this sounds like a great trend regarding aging single women, though. If women put off marriage until later so they can pursue career goals, then men damn well better hold them to it and demand that they do have their financial house in order. It's no different than the standard that men have been held to for ages, anyway.

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Submitted by dungone on Thu, 2012-12-27 20:10

"I applaud this tendency to increasingly consider the character of one's dates."

I think this is a much bigger issue than ever because women have a lot of power they can use without accountability to wreck a man's life. I know, I'm a man and I still like looks--but looks without character are deadly. I also think modern female standards of behavior have sunk below zero. Virtually anything a woman does to a man is acceptable.

"If women put off marriage until later so they can pursue career goals, then men damn well better hold them to it and demand that they do have their financial house in order."

I agree. The more women work,the more they should be expected to have their own financial houses in order and understand what it takes to maintain that order. A disciplined approach to money is much more important than a big diamond ring or a nose job. Expecting the man to take care of all matters financial is so twentieth century.

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Submitted by el cid on Thu, 2012-12-27 21:25