That Wasn't Me! I Swear It!

In preparation for car buying I spent a few weeks pouring over my credit reports and FICO scores and all that fun stuff. I'm still waiting for my credit score to bypass my SAT verbal, because let's face, which one is more important once you're out of school?

(I could turn this into a post about how numbers define us, but that wasn't my original intent. Hmm.... which way to go from here? Eh, I'm tired, I'll go with the short post.)

As an upstanding citizen, I have no unpaid parking tickets, overdue library books or overdue toll fees. Um, that I know of. And luckily, none that the credit agencies know of either. If I were living in Chicago, Miami, or Portland for instance, it could be another story. Some major metropolitan areas are using collection agencies to chase down city-owned fines. And if the people don't pay up, their credit report can suffer.

That's right. Every unfair ticket, accidental toll booth drive-thru and three week late reference book could haunt you the next time you want to sign your life away on the dotted line of a credit loan. A library fine can cost you up to 100 points on your credit score. A HUNDRED POINTS?!

No, you shouldn't be late in the first place. And yes, if you are, then you should pay the fees in a timely manner. But my God, is $10.80 really worth ruining someone's chances of getting a home loan? Do thieves and car jackers get penalties on their credit reports? Well, they should.

"I'm sorry Mr. Smith, your credit report shows you kept Sex for the Romantically Challenged and How to Get a Date in 30 Seconds or Less for 12 weeks. Your credit score is only 570 now."

"How can I ever put Chapter 8: Back Seat Booty to use without a new car?!"