It seems dating in America has taken a new perilous interesting turn. Where prospective dating partners would spend time finding out if they got on, shared common values, had physical chemistry, similar aspirations and beliefs a new article courtesy of the nytimes is highlighting the new craze of asking right off the bat what one’s credit score. Which is probably a short hand way of saying, what’s your financial mobility factor?
nytimes: 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.
With an ever tightening economy and the realization that economic opportunities are no longer flourishing as they once were many are now being extra vigilant in how they approach prospective partners, ever aware that not only that in love they may have to make some sacrifices to support someone who may or may not make as much money as they do, individuals are also now cognizant of the fact that another’s onerous debt could in the end become their debt too as well as affect their combined ability to afford/secure housing, children and a general standard of living. Heady stuff to be thinking about in the first few dates indeed.
Reflects Manisha Thakor, the founder and chief executive of MoneyZen Wealth Management, a financial advisory firm: “Credit scores are like the dating equivalent of a sexually transmitted disease test. 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.”
Interesting. Of course it shouldn’t be lost on anyone that outlets like MoneyZen stand to gain with a sudden neuroses by individuals who are now compelled to savvily manage their finances. Then again shouldn’t we be doing that in the first place and not looking to shift our financial mismanagement or bad luck on to the shoulders of others? Perhaps that in a way may explain the continuing trend of being cognizant of prospective partner’s state of affairs, so as to at least inform ourselves what one is really get involved with.
And then there are these real world considerations to contemplate:
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.
Which may be a short hand way of saying dating in the end is no longer a romantic notion that we ought to necessarily believe in but sadly perhaps only an option for those of us who are elitists and of course who manage to spin a magic yarn about who they really are that may or may from time to time spellbound prospective partners until reality eventually sets in and the realization that present and past bills need to be paid. Hopefully not by you….?
And then there was these two following comments that caught my attention as well:
Why stop at the credit score? I’d ask how much money they have in the bank, how much they make, and how much money they plan on inheriting from their parents. Obviously all that matters in today’s society is money so why not get to the bottom of what is most important on the first date.
I was initially shocked reading this article, but upon further reflection, I feel that this is a natural byproduct of a culture that values money and financial success.
How does someones credit score indicate if the potential partner would be a good partner? It does not.
The small bumps in the road created by slightly hindered access to credit are NOTHING compared with the emotional reservoir required for child rearing or long term committed marriage.
Anyone asks me what my credit score is outside of a financial transaction is signaling their shallow views of the world. Buzz off if that is your thing.
