Consequences of a bad credit score

Do student loans affect your credit score?

While student loans can impact your credit score, that's not necessarily a bad thing. Repaying the loan on time can strengthen your credit score, whereas paying late can hurt it. To find out more about how student loans can impact your credit score, read this article.

How to rebuild your credit score

It's easy to let your credit score slip without realizing it. Checking your credit score and getting to know what's on your credit report are the first steps to getting to the "700 club," or "good score" range, according to one financial expert.

The first steps to rebuilding your credit score include getting to know exactly what's on your credit report and figuring out how far you are from the '700 club,' or 'good score' range.

How the credit scoring system could change

Factoring rental payments into credit scores is just one proposed change some have suggested making to today’s credit scoring system to cater the system to renters as well as homeowners.

Privacy concerns in the credit scoring system

Because credit scores use a lot of personal information (such as whether or not someone makes credit card payments on time), some worry their privacy is being compromised in the data collection process.

Mortgage calculator: How much can you borrow?

How much you could pay per month for a mortgage heavily depends on your financial standing, the cost of your property, and how much time you want to spend paying it off. Get a better understanding of what you can afford—and what you might be offered from a lender—with a mortgage calculator.

See how a good VantageScore and a good FICO score can differ

While VantageScores and FICO scores both offer credit scores between 300 and 850 and consider the same core factors, they weigh those factors differently, and specific numbers can have different meanings depending on the type of score.

More than 3 million student loan borrowers were in default at the end of 2021

More than 3 million student loan borrowers were in default at the end of 2021. While default rates have declined since pandemic-era payment pauses, failing to pay off student debt can still have serious consequences, from a low credit score to the government withholding wages.

How credit scoring works outside the US

If you move outside the US, you won’t get to take your credit score with you. Credit scoring systems work differently in other countries. In the UK, for instance, being registered to vote improves your credit score.

A 'debt trap' refers to the need for loans or credit to cover the expenses incurred from other debt

Debt traps can be caused by unforeseen expenses or inadequate savings and can be a brutal cycle to break. At the end of 2025, total household debt in the US reached $18.8T, according to data from the Federal Reserve of New York.

In real estate, a larger down payment can reduce your loan amount

However, the trade-off is liquidity: Tying up too much cash in a home can reduce emergency savings and delay your purchase.

Credit scores seriously suffer when individuals file for bankruptcy, and there’s no easy fix

Those who file for Chapter 7 must wait 10 years before the bankruptcy is removed from their credit report. For Chapter 13, the wait time is seven years.

Payday lenders usually require borrowers to post-date a check or provide access to an electronic bank account

If borrowers can't pay back the loan, they can be subject to overdraft fees from their bank and other fees from the payday lender—further exacerbating the debt borrowers face.

In some expensive US cities, a $100K salary hardly offers a comfortable living

After tax, a $100K salary leaves you between $70K and $80K, depending on where you live. The value of what's left over varies significantly from city to city, with considerations like rent and grocery costs impacting how much money you lose.

Credit card issuers determine your credit limit using your payment history, income, and more

Some credit card issuers also take your other payment obligations into account when determining your credit limit, such as the cost of your rent or alimony.

How interest rates affect homebuying

Rising interest rates impact every aspect of buying a home. This five-minute article gives a high-level overview of the relationship between the housing market and interest rates.

US consumers collectively owe more than $1T to credit card companies—almost as much as they owe in auto loans.

Managing too many credit cards can be costly if they have annual fees

However, canceling cards must be strategic if it becomes necessary, as it can negatively impact your credit score. Before canceling, experts suggest asking if it's possible to downgrade to a no-annual-fee version in order to keep the account open, thus preventing potential hits to your credit score.

Private credit grew from a $250B asset class in 2010 to around $1.5T in early 2024

That's partly due to the industry's rising interest rates that created more upside for investors. Interest rates have increased in recent years alongside the Federal Reserve's interest rate hikes beginning in 2022. Private credit loans typically stretch over multiple years (typically between five and seven years, although term lengths vary).

Investing in bonds comes with a few risks

Think: changes in interest rates that impact the bond’s value, or a bond issuer completely defaulting on a loan. There are steps investors can take to lower their initial and future risk when investing in the bond market, such as checking a company's bond rating before investing.

The lifetime cost of the American dream exceeds $5M

A new analysis suggests it costs millions of dollars to maintain the American dream over a lifetime. The price tag includes retirement, healthcare, higher education, homeownership, and other core elements of a comfortable life for the average American.

'Good deflation' happens when prices naturally track with supply, meaning prices change gradually

This tends to make products and services more affordable and normalizes the standard of living. Bad deflation usually happens when there are sudden changes to either supply or demand. Near-zero [interest rates helped create the real estate bubble that sparked the Great Recession when it crashed](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMo9mD8j7IA&t=91s) Because deflation distorts the value of money, deflation is particularly harmful for borrowers. Low interest rates made it easy for businesses and everyday people to take on enormous debt, which exacerbated the effects of the recession.

For much of human history, homeownership was primarily associated with the elite

Before the Industrial Revolution, early mortgages were rather exclusive loans given only to nobility. But as more people gained more wealth through the Industrial Revolution, banks began to take on “higher-risk” loans to everyday people.

Hawaiians must earn higher annual salaries than anywhere else in the country—roughly $229K—to purchase a typical home

This map of the US shows the annual income required to purchase a typical three-bedroom home in each state. This is based on a 10% down payment, a 6.65% interest rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage, and a 30% income-to-housing cost threshold, including taxes and insurance, according to recent data from Realtor.com. According to the data, Hawaii is the state where you'd need the highest yearly income.

In 2008, the 'Big Short' mastermind Michael Burry made more than $700M

Before the 2008 housing crisis, Burry used credit default swaps to bet against subprime mortgage-backed securities that fueled the 2008 housing crisis. His firm made more than $700M for its investors, and Burry made more than $100M in personal profits.

Graduate/professional schools often cost more to attend than undergraduate schools

Grad and professional school cost more than undergraduate schools. Individuals with advanced degrees owe many times more than graduates with bachelor’s degrees. For example, the average student debt held by a PhD was around $125K in 2023, while those with undergraduate debt averaged $37K.

Diabetes has downstream effects on the heart, eyes, kidneys, and more

High blood sugar levels in untreated diabetes roughen artery walls, increasing plaque buildup, heart disease, and high blood pressure risk. High levels also cause acid to build up in the bloodstream, potentially making the brain swell, the lungs fill with fluid, and the heart to beat arrhythmically—all fatal complications.

US housing costs have risen by roughly 175% between 1991 and 2026—but a growing number of Gen Zers are becoming homeowners anyway. In 2025, 4% of homebuyers were Gen Z, up from 3% the year before.

Play the role of a student in a game where you try to navigate college and remain debt-free, selecting different income levels, high school experience, race, ethnicity, and more.

About 2,000 US babies are born annually without some portion of their limbs, potentially leading to a lifetime of pricey prosthetics.

Use this calculator to find the dollar value of your mental load, from meal planning to coordinating after-school care for your children.

Discover the catastrophic consequences of a failure of the US electrical grid—something that is more likely than many Americans think.

Hedge funds, the private investment firms that trade a wide swath of financial assets, make money by imposing steep fees on investors and from the fund's investment performance.

SpaceX's S-1 or 'prospectus' revealed many previously unknown details about the company, including its unprofitability despite doing $18.7B in revenue in 2025, exactly how many voting shares Elon Musk will have in the company (roughly 85%), and more.

Before the current East Wing ballroom project, only two White House renovations in the past 100 years cost more than $10M.

Apeirophobia is an overwhelming fear of living forever, perhaps stemming from the brain's inability to conceptualize an infinite life.

The price of gas is a composite made up of several different factors, with the federal gas tax making up less than 20% of what drivers pay at the pump.

A Yale student wrote a profound essay about the consulting industry's influence on elite college students that was published in a book of her writing after she died in a post-graduation car accident.

Firework or sparkler burns, even if they cover a relatively small area of skin, can significantly affect our range of motion.

See a ranking of the best (and worst) Federal Reserve Chairs since 1914 out of the 16 men and women who have held the office since.

Up to a million Girl Scouts sell about 200 million cookie boxes every spring, generating $800 million, largely because refusing a child is frowned upon

In 2026, Finland was named the world's happiest country for the ninth consecutive year based on its wealth, social safety network, and high life expectancy, among other factors.

Some coin denominations have ridges etched on their sides, partly to prevent counterfeiting, in a practice called 'reeding.'

Art theft is the third-largest source of criminal revenues worldwide, thanks in part to the subjective nature of valuing a work of art.

Gerrymandering works through two techniques: cracking opposing voters across districts to dilute their power, and packing them into a few to waste their votes in lopsided majorities.

Studies suggest when you sleep is as important as how much you get, and syncing with your circadian rhythms may lead to less fatigue and improved long-term health outcomes

The US first hosted the World Cup in 1994, a tournament that lives in soccer infamy for its poor planning and the murder of Colombian player Andres Escobar, who'd accidentally scored on his own net.

Hotels in Cannes, the glamorous city on the French Riviera, hire hawks to ward off seagulls during the city's famous film festival.

Hurricanes, which rely on air consistently spinning in the same direction, cannot cross the equator because air curves in opposite directions north and south of it.

The Beatles' US label rejected the band's first two singles, 'Please Please Me' and 'From Me to You,' with one executive calling the band 'dead in the water.'