Let me hear a big “woo-hoo!” Spring break is here! Unfortunately, with a name like Billy Bad Score, I’m not often welcomed on the road trips and vacations. But sometimes I get to tag along anyway, because even people with strong, healthy credit scores can slack off and allow me to sneak in when the good times start rolling.
Sadly for me (and, in the long run, my hosts), I don’t always appear immediately, but I often show up like a bad hangover after, say, the party at the favorite beach hangout where you hear someone yell out, “This round’s on me!” That round can turn out to be a lot more expensive than expected, and suddenly the credit card bill is unaffordable. That’s when I make my entrance.
Or—this is a good one—I may show up after those bathing beauties go for a stroll down the beach. There’s no room in their bathing suits to carry their credit cards and identification, so while they’re turning heads and enjoying the views, someone else is rummaging through their things and stealing their identities. If the beach strollers don’t check their credit scores regularly, they may not realize fraud has occurred until I pop up during their next attempt to get a line of credit.
In other cases, people may not have the cash to go on a spring-break trip, so they use their credit cards for a cash advance. They have good credit scores and relatively low interests rates, so why not? I’ll tell you why not: because cash advances carry much higher interest rates than purchases, that’s why not! These unsuspecting folks end up with larger monthly payments and more expensive debt than they’re used to. If they’re not careful, I’ll sink their credit rating while they’re enjoying a swim.
What could happen in all of these cases? These vacationers find me tagging along next year – making it more difficult to get the credit they want – or need — for a worry-free spring break.
But that won’t happen to you, right? Have you ever seen me show up as one of your credit scores after a trip? How did I get there? I’d love to relive the moment (I get a kick out of being the one bad credit score that can ruin everything).
The beginning of summer generally signals sunscreen and travel itineraries, but many families this year are unsure about whether they can afford a summer vacation. The recession has many consumers struggling to pay down debt and focus on savings, but reasonably-priced vacations are available if families know where to look.
