Sam of Financial Samurai wonders: should I ask someone for their credit score during courtship?
Episode 292: Should I Ask Someone for Their Credit Score Before Getting Into a Serious Relationship by Sam Dogen of Financial Samurai.
Sam Dogen's net worth took a beating in 2009 as the world was falling apart. He thought it would be a good idea to start a personal finance site to help himself and others make sense of chaos. After all, he had spent 10 years working in the finance industry, got his MBA from Cal, invested and saved aggressively, and still got financially rocked! Since then, more than 20 million visitors have stopped by FinancialSamurai.com.
The original post is located here: http://www.financialsamurai.com/should-i-ask-someone-for-their-credit-score-before-getting-into-serious-relationship
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Asking anyone for a credit score or any numerical statistics before getting involved is a mistake. A person cannot be reduced to a series of numbers. It would be like deciding to date someone only if their BMI is below a certain level, or if that person got a certain score on the SAT. Numbers abound in our lives but they are just, in most cases, numbers. The problem with people’s awareness of a credit score is the wrong types of people are now demanding access to one’s credit score for activities that do not involve the necessity for a credit score. As such, a credit score could be used to discriminate against consumers who, sometimes for no reasons of their own, have experienced financial hardship. The OLD podcast seems to assume that all things are equal: a person with a low credit score has been foolish with disposable income — an income of the source and amount that seems to be taken for granted. It would be a mistake, a hasty and foolish mistake, to try to sum up an entire complex and contradictory being (as all humans are) in one lone number that is open to interpretation. The average person lacks the tools and insight to interpret what a credit score actually means. Besides, a credit score is a measure of PAST behavior. It is not a guarantee that the person’s money habits or financial situation won’t change in future.
I enjoy most OLD podcasts and draw inspiration from them, but this one just sounds pompous, entitled and exclusionary.
I appreciate the feedback, Jon! We shared this article from Financial Samurai, not necessarily agreeing that it’s a good idea to ask for someone’s credit score before getting involved, but to start a conversation about it, and to think about financial matters within relationships. I actually completely agree with you–past financial behavior doesn’t dictate current or future behaviors! Thank you for listening and sharing your thoughts. It’s greatly appreciated.