Let’s normalize talking about our credit histories

Buy now, pay later a “ticking time bomb”

“I felt so much shame and embarrassment that I wasn’t able to make a $25 payment on time.”

about personal finance

A tragedy turned out to be the couple’s financial salvation: Schulze received an inheritance in 2022 after their father’s death. That helped the couple pay off the credit card debt and Schulze’s student loan debt all at once — but they didn’t expect the effect on their credit scores.

A negative mark to your credit doesn’t necessarily doom your financial future

The one missed payment tanked Brown’s already-low credit score, and she needed several years to recover.

After a quick check-in with the specialist the following week, she received a bill she thought was “completely outrageous,” so she never paid it. About four years later, Teheux applied for a mortgage, and the unpaid bill surfaced during her credit check.

When “responsible” moves hurt credit scores

Kelly Schulze was let go from their job in 2021. Their family was “making it OK” on Schulze’s husband’s paycheck and a shared credit card with a balance that rode near the limit for months. A high credit utilization weighs heavily in a credit score, so this dragged down both spouse’s scores.

“We need to normalize talking about these things in order to take away the shame and confusion.”

Insecurity about how credit scores work

Another little-known credit factor, applying for new credit, dinged Brown’s score recently — and she didn’t even realize she was doing it.

“Knowledge is power, and understanding where you stand compared to your peers can be enlightening,” said Stanberry, who now runs The Purse, a newsletter that includes contributor confessionals about finances and household labor. “This applies to everything from salaries to student loan debt to credit scores.

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Learning others’ experiences with money is important for reducing stigma and helping us all better understand our financial circumstances. Credit scoring is a famously opaque practice, and fear and confusion put consumers at a disadvantage. Negative marks on credit reports often come as a surprise to folks who believe they’re making responsible money moves.

“There’s always a chance you’ll make people uncomfortable if you talk about your finances, but I’d argue that there’s no other real risks,” said Lindsey Stanberry, founding editor of Refinery29 Money Diaries and author of the “Money Diaries” book.

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When credit scores become casualties of health care

Brown was researching a Lasik procedure. She answered a series of questions from her doctor’s office, expecting to learn more about her payment options. “I got to the last page, and it turns out I applied for a credit card. I was so embarrassed and so agitated.”

She was able to get the mortgage. Texheux, now 58, added, “I also started buying canned pumpkin.”

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Hearing stories like Teheux’s might soothe some of the shame and financial anxiety younger people like DeVoto and Brown are suffering.

Many people have felt the shame Brown described — and they believe they’re alone. In reality, eight in 10 Americans hold some kind of debt, with 39% holding unpaid credit card balances, according a 2015 study from Pew Trusts. The vast majority of them say credit cards are essential to help them pay for necessities, but they’d still prefer not to have that debt, reflecting the cultural shame around the subject that keeps us from sharing these stories candidly.

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