As Georgia retirees get older, they may start relying less and less on their credit cards. In fact, at a certain point, they may abandon them altogether. Why not? They have everything they need, and using cash or a debit card for everyday purchases just seems easier. However, you never know when the need to finance an expensive item – like a car – might come up. If you do need to take out a loan after years of credit inactivity, you may find that your credit score has dropped significantly. Unfortunately, if this is the case, you might not qualify for a competitive interest rate on the loan, or you could get turned down altogether. Because you never know when you might need a good credit score, it’s a good idea for Georgia consumers to continue using their credit card(s) well past the point of retirement.
Reasons Why Georgia Consumers might need Good Credit Score in their Retirement Years
According to the Social Security Administration, the average 65-year-old Georgian will live until his or her mid-80s and a lot can happen in two decades. Here are a few reasons why having good credit might come in handy in your senior years.
You may need to replace your current car.
Sure, at some point, you could stop driving, but if you don’t see that happening in the very near future, you might need to buy another vehicle. As mentioned previously, not having a good credit score can make it much more difficult to get an auto loan.
Refinancing your home could save you money.
If you still have a mortgage, having a good credit score might allow you to refinance for a better interest rate. This would give you more money to spend on all of the fun stuff available to Georgia retirees – excellent dining, shopping, and bus tours.
A child or grandchild might need you to co-sign a loan.
As long as your credit is in good shape, you can help the next generation get a good start on credit building. Just make sure that you understand all of the risks that come with co-signing. You don’t want to end up hurting your credit score by doing this huge favor for a family member.
A home equity line of credit may come in handy for home modifications.
Either you or your spouse may eventually need to use a walker or wheelchair to get around. Are your hallways and doorways big enough to accommodate this kind of equipment? If not, you might need to hire someone to make these types of changes.
In order to maintain a good credit score, you don’t have to use your credit cards every single day. You can restrict your credit card purchases to one or two a month. Then just pay off the bill when it comes, and you can keep your solid credit rating without building up any debt.
It’s also a good idea to keep tabs on your credit reports. Even if you’re pretty sure that you know what’s on them by now, you never know when errors might pop up. About 80% of credit reports contain inaccuracies of some type. And a lot of these mistakes can bring down your credit score. It’s also a sad fact that identity thieves tend to target seniors. So, even if you’re extra careful with your personal information, monitoring your credit reports for suspicious activity is smart.
Any Georgia resident who finds a strange account or obvious error on any of their credit reports should dispute the item and request that it be removed. These types of disputes should be done in writing. Also, the process can be a little confusing if you don’t have experience in dealing with the credit bureaus. However, you don’t have to deal with cleaning up your credit on your own. Instead, Georgia consumers can get a FREE credit repair lawyer to help with the entire disputing process.
The Free and Legal way to Get Better Credit
Don’t let errors on your credit reports bring your credit score down. At Credit Repair Lawyers of America, we’ve been cleaning up credit reports for consumers since 2008 for free. How do we do it? All of our fees come from the defendants in settled cases. This is why our clients pay nothing for the work we do.
Let’s start the conversation about what we can do for your credit. Set up your free consultation today by calling Attorney Gary Nitzkin at (404)591-6680 or sending him a message through our contact page.
