Originally Posted by NoSoup

Interestingly, I just watched this movie last weekend.... More on that in a moment.

Obviously, I'm probably a bit biased as a loan officer, but I'm going to have to say that credit would probably be a dealbreaker, as it is such a strong indicator of the level of responsibility that someone has.

Granted, there are always exceptions - huge medical expenses, divorce, ect, but as a general rule it would make a difference to me. Especially considering that finances are one of the leading causes of divorce - it would be silly (in my opinon, of course) to disregard one of the tried and true methods of determining whether or not someone is fiscally responsible or not.

Now, on to "Maxed Out!" - I thought that documentary was pretty much a pile. I didn't mind the majority of it, but I really wasn't a fan of how it portrayed companies "preying" on consumers - not to spoil it for some, but basically there is a portion in the show where two mothers are discussing how their college age kids commited suicide because the big, evil credit card companies offered their kids credit cards, and they used them irresponsibly and got themselves into a ridiculous amount of debt.

Where is the personal responsibility? I cannot even begin to count the number of times I've been taking an application for a client, and they ask for something that is a very poor decision for their long term financial well being - like taking out a home equity line of credit to go on vacation and buy that pair of ATVs that they've always wanted - and regardless of my professional advice, they want to go ahead and do it anyway. Realistically, who am I to say whether or not it's worth it to them, as it's a very personal choice, but I could personally never put myself in that situation - I value my financial health more than I value my expensive "wants."

Some people simply live beyond their means - it's a personal choice, and banks simply make it possible - they certainly don't force you to make poor financial decisions. Educate yourself, get some solid advice, and weigh the true cost of your next splurge - there is lots of great info out there, all it would take is a couple hours of research.



Out of curiosity, how does this happen? Very seldom have I come across someone that had no idea at all where their credit stood - at least approximately. Maybe not specific scores, obviously, but "Good" or "Bad" was usually pretty accurate.

It pretty much just boils down to paying bills on time - if you aren't, you're very likley damaging your score...