The NY Times is one of the best papers in the world but likes to publish bullshit trend stories. Here's a classic of the genre. It only makes sense in a world where everyone is Monoriu:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/26/business/even-cupid-wants-to-know-your-credit-score.html?hp&_r=0
QuotePerfect 10? Never Mind That. Ask Her for Her Credit Score.
As she nibbled on strawberry shortcake, Jessica LaShawn, a flight attendant from Chicago, tried not to get ahead of herself and imagine this first date turning into another and another, and maybe, at some point, a glimmering diamond ring and happily ever after.
She simply couldn't help it, though. After all, he was tall, from a religious family, raised by his grandparents just as she was, worked in finance and even had great teeth.
Her musings were suddenly interrupted when her date asked a decidedly unromantic question: "What's your credit score?"
"It was as if the music stopped," Ms. LaShawn, 31, said, recalling how the date this year went so wrong so quickly after she tried to answer his question honestly. "It was really awkward because he kept telling me that I was the perfect girl for him, but that a low credit score was his deal-breaker."
The credit score, once a little-known metric derived from a complex formula that incorporates outstanding debt and payment histories, has become an increasingly important number used to bestow credit, determine housing and even distinguish between job candidates.
It's so widely used that it has also become a bigger factor in dating decisions, sometimes eclipsing more traditional priorities like a good job, shared interests and physical chemistry. That's according to interviews with more than 50 daters across the country, all under the age of 40.
"Credit scores are like the dating equivalent of a sexually transmitted disease test," said Manisha Thakor, the founder and chief executive of MoneyZen Wealth Management, a financial advisory firm. "It's a shorthand way to get a sense of someone's financial past the same way an S.T.D. test gives some information about a person's sexual past."
It's difficult to quantify how many daters factor credit scores into their romantic calculations, but financial planners, marriage counselors and dating site executives all said that they were hearing far more concerns about credit than in the past. "I'm getting twice as many questions about credit scores as I did prerecession," Ms. Thakor said.
Executives who run online financial advice forums say that topics about credit and dating receive hundreds of responses within minutes of being posted. Alexa von Tobel, founder and chief executive of Learnvest.com, a financial planning firm, said that members are more interested in credit scores than ever before.
"It's the only grade that matters after you graduate," she said.
Josephine La Bella, 25, who works at a payroll company, likes to tackle the delicate subject head on. Ms. La Bella, who has vigilantly monitored her credit score ever since graduating from Rutgers in 2009, has found that broaching the topic of her own credit score causes her suitors to open up, too.
In August, Ms. La Bella recalled, while at dinner in Bayonne, N.J., a date blurted out his credit score on the first outing. Instead of making things more awkward, she said, a really productive discussion followed. Since then, Ms. La Bella tries to bring up the topic soon after meeting someone.
"I take my credit score seriously and so my date can take me seriously," she said. A handful of small, online dating Web sites have sprung up to cater specifically to singles looking for a partner with a tiptop credit score. "Good Credit Is Sexy," says one site, Creditscoredating.com, which allows members to view the credit scores of potential dates who agree to provide the numbers.
On another site, Datemycreditscore.com, a member posted on the Web site's home page that others should to "stop kidding" themselves and realize that credit scores do matter.
Dating someone with poor credit can have real implications. Banks remain wary of making loans to borrowers with tarnished scores, typically 660 and below; the best scores range from 800 to 850, and scores above 750 are considered good. A low score could quash dreams of buying a house, and result in steep interest rates, up to 29 percent, for credit cards, car financing and other unsecured loans.
A middling credit score can also torpedo an application for an apartment and drive up the cost of cellphone plans and auto insurance. And while eight states, including California, Illinois and Maryland, have passed laws limiting employers ability to use credit checks when assessing job candidates, 13 percent of employers surveyed by the Society of Human Resource Management in July performed credit checks on all job applicants.
Lauren Dollard, a 26-year-old assistant at a nonprofit in Houston, said her low credit score had helped to stall her romantic plans. Her boyfriend is wary of marrying her until she can significantly pay down the more than $150,000 she owes in student loans and bolster her credit score, she said.
Ms. Dollard's credit score is so low, around 600, that she hasn't been able to qualify for a car loan. She sympathizes with her boyfriend's position because he "doesn't ever want to be accountable for the irresponsible financial decision I made," she said. Her boyfriend declined to be interviewed.
John Hendrix, a 33-year-old chemist in San Francisco, said he worried that the vast disparity between his girlfriend's credit score and his own low one could create tension in their relationship. When the couple leased a car in October, Mr. Hendrix had to leave his name off the contract because his poor credit scuttled his chances for the bargain interest rate that his girlfriend qualified for.
Mr. Hendrix said he resented that his credit score, which he said was marred by a single contested cable bill, has limited his access to credit. "I always pay my bills so it's pretty ridiculous that a billing error can ruin your score," he said. His girlfriend declined to be interviewed.
Sarah Klein, who manages myFICO Forums, an online discussion group, likens credit scores to dieting because both affect dating but often are shrouded in secrecy. To motivate members to openly discuss and rehabilitate their credit scores, the site runs an online contest called the myFICO Fitness Challenge, where participants try to increase their scores. (FICO is a name derived from Fair Isaac Corporation.) Last year, more than 24,000 members participated.
In a post on the forum, one member asked for advice after finding out that her boyfriend's credit score hovered around 400. Some members denounced the member as petty and materialistic while others counseled her to run away from him.
Ms. LaShawn, the flight attendant from Chicago, said that she was still shocked that her credit score could sabotage a potentially great date. She had accumulated credit card debt and sporadically fallen behind on bills, and explained that she wasn't sure of her credit score, but was positive that it wasn't very good.
Days after her failed date, she said, she got an apologetic text message. Her date reiterated that the problem "wasn't me, it was my credit score."
Somebody has a 600 credit score and sounds a little butthurt.
A credit score wouldnt matter to me, but marrying someone with a 150,000 student loan wouldnt seem like a good idea.
Also, I have a credit score of 821. Where's my super model?
Quote from: HVC on December 26, 2012, 10:10:45 AM
A credit score wouldnt matter to me, but marrying someone with a 150,000 student loan wouldnt seem like a good idea.
Also, I have a credit score of 821. Where's my super model?
You are still an eggplant.
But a financially solvent one :contract:
I'm also proof you can be poors and have a good rating :lol:
Quote from: HVC on December 26, 2012, 10:10:45 AM
A credit score wouldnt matter to me, but marrying someone with a 150,000 student loan wouldnt seem like a good idea.
Yeah, poor credit score usually means there are other personality and history red flags, be it irresponsibility, tardiness, spendthrift, debt, etc. It's one variable linked with many.
This is a fetish, nothing to learn from it, unless one likes extrapolating that the rest of the world is turned on by big toes.
Quote from: HVC on December 26, 2012, 10:17:33 AM
But a financially solvent one :contract:
I'm also proof you can be poors and have a good rating :lol:
Stop ruining my fun. :mad:
QuoteAs she nibbled on strawberry shortcake, Jessica LaShawn, a flight attendant from Chicago, tried not to get ahead of herself and imagine this first date turning into another and another, and maybe, at some point, a glimmering diamond ring and happily ever after.
Marriage will always be another form of prostitution, just stretched out over a longer time line.
Quote from: HVC on December 26, 2012, 10:10:45 AM
A credit score wouldnt matter to me, but marrying someone with a 150,000 student loan wouldnt seem like a good idea.
No shit. The debt comes with the panties.
QuoteAlso, I have a credit score of 821. Where's my super model?
:lol:
QuoteMs. Dollard's credit score is so low, around 600, that she hasn't been able to qualify for a car loan. She sympathizes with her boyfriend's position because he "doesn't ever want to be accountable for the irresponsible financial decision I made," she said. Her boyfriend declined to be interviewed.
More :lol:
QuoteMr. Hendrix said he resented that his credit score, which he said was marred by a single contested cable bill, has limited his access to credit. "I always pay my bills so it's pretty ridiculous that a billing error can ruin your score," he said. His girlfriend declined to be interviewed.
Even more :lol:
I've been doing this for years. :huh:
Quote from: garbon on December 26, 2012, 01:17:02 PM
I've been doing this for years. :huh:
Most real people have taken this sort of thing into account when it comes to taking the next step with that special future ex spouse for years now. It's just Count bitching about it.
Quote from: CountDeMoney on December 26, 2012, 01:21:03 PM
Quote from: garbon on December 26, 2012, 01:17:02 PM
I've been doing this for years. :huh:
Most real people have taken this sort of thing into account when it comes to taking the next step with that special future ex spouse for years now. It's just Count bitching about it.
It's definitely something I'm curious about, but asking about it straight out seems like such a dick and counter-productive move.
Quote from: DGuller on December 26, 2012, 01:23:47 PM
Quote from: CountDeMoney on December 26, 2012, 01:21:03 PM
Quote from: garbon on December 26, 2012, 01:17:02 PM
I've been doing this for years. :huh:
Most real people have taken this sort of thing into account when it comes to taking the next step with that special future ex spouse for years now. It's just Count bitching about it.
It's definitely something I'm curious about, but asking about it straight out seems like such a dick and counter-productive move.
Especially on a first date. I can understand having that conversion before moving in together or starting to think seriously about marriage, but not before sex.
It makes sense for grabon the gold digger to ask for a score; less so for Banker Boy interviewing potential trophy wife flight attendants.
Quote from: CountDeMoney on December 26, 2012, 01:04:26 PM
QuoteMs. Dollard’s credit score is so low, around 600, that she hasn’t been able to qualify for a car loan. She sympathizes with her boyfriend’s position because he “doesn’t ever want to be accountable for the irresponsible financial decision I made,” she said. Her boyfriend declined to be interviewed.
More :lol:
The $150k-in-debt mostly unemployed Ms. Dollard has her FB profile completely open. She is 26-weeks pregnant. The boyfriend is a full-time corporate lawyer and part-time Army Reserve officer.
She fails a credit check, but he failed the contraceptives check. The boyfriend will be paying her for the rest of his life. :nelson:
Quote from: Admiral Yi on December 26, 2012, 01:29:46 PM
It makes sense for grabon the gold digger to ask for a score; less so for Banker Boy interviewing potential trophy wife flight attendants.
Actually, it may make more sense for the banker boy. Few people are so rich that a profligate spouse can't put a serious dent in their finances. At the same time, banker boys are probably the ones who can get away with being uncouth dicks, and they also have the most practice with it.
Quote from: Phillip V on December 26, 2012, 01:31:11 PM
Quote from: CountDeMoney on December 26, 2012, 01:04:26 PM
QuoteMs. Dollard's credit score is so low, around 600, that she hasn't been able to qualify for a car loan. She sympathizes with her boyfriend's position because he "doesn't ever want to be accountable for the irresponsible financial decision I made," she said. Her boyfriend declined to be interviewed.
More :lol:
The $150k-in-debt Ms. Dollard has her FB profile completely open. She is 26-weeks pregnant. The boyfriend is a full-time corporate lawyer and part-time Army Reserve officer.
She fails a credit check, but he failed the contraceptives check. The boyfriend will be paying her for the rest of his life. :nelson:
:pinch:
Quote from: DGuller on December 26, 2012, 01:31:52 PM
Actually, it may make more sense for the banker boy. Few people are so rich that a profligate spouse can't put a serious dent in their finances. At the same time, banker boys are probably the ones who can get away with being uncouth dicks, and they also have the most practice with it.
More than for a gold digger? Stable cash flow is the entire point of the excercise for a gold digger.
And anyway, the sugar daddy has techniques for managing profligacy. Like a low limit credit card, or a cash allowance.
Quote from: Admiral Yi on December 26, 2012, 01:36:14 PM
Quote from: DGuller on December 26, 2012, 01:31:52 PM
Actually, it may make more sense for the banker boy. Few people are so rich that a profligate spouse can't put a serious dent in their finances. At the same time, banker boys are probably the ones who can get away with being uncouth dicks, and they also have the most practice with it.
More than for a gold digger? Stable cash flow is the entire point of the excercise for a gold digger.
And anyway, the sugar daddy has techniques for managing profligacy. Like a low limit credit card, or a cash allowance.
Yeah but they are thinking with their penises not their brains.
What an alien concept.
I mean, it makes sense that economic factors play into a relationship - especially once it goes beyond the initial stage - but I find the American fascination with the credit score pretty strange.
Quote from: garbon on December 26, 2012, 01:41:58 PM
Yeah but they are thinking with their penises not their brains.
If they just want to get in the dick work they can fuck a bridge and tunnel secretary. Finding a suitable trophy wife is about much more than pussy.
Damn right.
Quote from: Admiral Yi on December 26, 2012, 01:43:57 PM
Quote from: garbon on December 26, 2012, 01:41:58 PM
Yeah but they are thinking with their penises not their brains.
If they just want to get in the dick work they can fuck a bridge and tunnel secretary. Finding a suitable trophy wife is about much more than pussy.
True enough. We seem to be talking about several things at once. That said I wonder how many of the younger banker boys do it right.
Quote from: Jacob on December 26, 2012, 01:42:25 PM
but I find the American fascination with the credit score pretty strange.
Unfortunately, it's one of those things that pervade so many aspects of our lives, whether it's correct or incorrect. And if it's incorrect, good luck getting it fixed.
That's right, only in America can the economic trajectory of your life be forever altered by the data entry skills of someone that couldn't get work at the DMV.
Quote from: CountDeMoney on December 26, 2012, 02:28:45 PM
Quote from: Jacob on December 26, 2012, 01:42:25 PM
but I find the American fascination with the credit score pretty strange.
Unfortunately, it's one of those things that pervade so many aspects of our lives, whether it's correct or incorrect. And if it's incorrect, good luck getting it fixed.
That's right, only in America can the economic trajectory of your life be forever altered by the data entry skills of someone that couldn't get work at the DMV.
It's only a step or two removed from Terry Gillian's
Brazil ? :unsure:
Quote from: CountDeMoney on December 26, 2012, 01:21:03 PM
Quote from: garbon on December 26, 2012, 01:17:02 PM
I've been doing this for years. :huh:
Most real people have taken this sort of thing into account when it comes to taking the next step with that special future ex spouse for years now. It's just Count bitching about it.
There's a big difference between taking it into account deep into a relationship and asking on the first date (which I doubt happens very often, hence me calling this story bogus).
For what it's worth, I don't know my credit score (only ever taken out federal loans for school) and I have enormous student debt. :sleep:
Besides, non-Northern English middle class women have much finer attuned antenna. :(
:P