how to keep fiance's bad credit from ruining mine when married?

Question

I know when we get married, my credit will be brought down by his. I was wondering if there is anyway around this? I have a perfect credit score and his is not so great. I think it is pretty shitty that mine will be affected just because we are married. I think it is wrong to bring my pefect score down when I have done nothing wrong. It's like they punish you for getting married. Well anyways, I was wondering if there was anyway to get around this? I know people are gonna say "dont get married..marry someone else...improve his credit score first..." and so on. That's not the kind of answer I am looking for. I will marry him no matter where his credit stands & I don't plan on spending money to pay off the stupid little things that ruined it. ..trust me, if you knew the things that brought down his credit, you wouldnt pay them either! So yeah, is there anything a person can do to get around this so I can keep my high score and he can have his not so great score?

Thanks for all the feedback. Is the 7 year thing really true? If so, we may be in good shape. I'm in my second year of college now and we dont plan on getting married till I finish..which will be another 6 years or so. The main reason he has bad credit involves his ex g/f getting ahold of a credit card and his ss #...yeah you can imagine. Also a few other things such as his parents had bad credit and used his when he was younger..therefor ruining it. But yeah if that 7 year thing is true then that would be nice. I wasnt sure though because my mom and step dad have been together for over 15 years now and the reason they dont get married is bcuz he has bad credit and she doesnt. Also if its true that his credit report has nothing to do with mine then thats great also!

ps. yes I have read the Dave Ramsey book ..my mom is obcessed with him and she got me a copy.

Answer 1

He'll never change.

Answer 2

Uh, not really.

There are 3 ways you can prevent his bad credit from affecting yours---

Pay off the stuff on his credit...

Don't marrying him...

Wait till his bad stuff falls off- usually about 7 years...

You've already stated that the first two won't be happening, so the only other option is to wait 7+ years for all the bad stuff to fall off. If you choose this option, I'd suggest that he check his credit record on a regular basis to make sure no new stuff shows up between now and then.

Also- Whatever you plan on buying on credit (like a house)- buy it now, BFORE the wedding, so as to secure a better interest rate..

Sorry- that's how it is.

Answer 3

Yes. I had kind of bad credit, and when we got married, they averaged out. But you better do a couple of things to make sure this won't affect your marriage (my wife and I did these things, and now we have a great credit score). 1. Joint bank account while you're engaged that you take care of. If he isn't willing to let you take over the finances before you're married like I was, he won't be willing after marriage. If he won't let you take over, get out. If he does, you can get his score to start coming back up by the time you get married... mine did. 2. He gives you his whole pay check and doesn't complain. He can still spend money, but on anything over $20 you have to discuss it together. Once again, if he's not willing to make that sacrifice for you, drop him. 3. He doesn't have his hands in the paperwork at all. You do it all, or you don't do the marriage. He gives you his whole check, you do the whole paperwork end. Trying to have him help you will only cause you frustration, and he'll get defensive, you'll argue all the time, and it won't be worth it. If he's not willing to give you control over the finances, this will be a thorn in your relationship for the rest of your lives. But you better be willing to love him and find him sexy regardless of his sucking at finances. My wife doesn't mind, because I am responsible with the rest of my life, I hold down a pretty good job, and I am willing to curb my spending as long as I never have to look at paperwork again. But you aren't her... so you'd better think hard about how much it bothers you. So take over the books, and you'll have his and your credit back up into the 700s in no time.

Answer 4

You're living in a fantasy world. Marrying someone is a business merger as much as anything else. If he couldn't keep his finances straight up until now, consider that you'll be jointly responsible for any debts he incurs from now on. The only way to keep his bad credit from ruining yours is to settle any debts he now has, and that might not even be enough. No, there is no cheap way out.

Answer 5

'Amanda' is right, sort of, the rest of them don't know what they're talking about. His credit score will not affect yours unless you apply for joint credit. Even if you become an 'authorized user' on any of his cards, it does not report to your credit score, and vice versa. An 'authorized user' is not liable in any way for the debt incurred. Only a 'joint cardholder' is, which means that you fill out a credit app. and sign it.

Since you should never borrow money for any reason, other than to buy a house, it shouldn't matter anyway.

Answer 6

Definitely check out Dave Ramsey's book The Total Money Makeover. Both you and your fiance should read it. It puts a lot of things into perspective. If you can both get on board with it, nothing can stop the two of you.

Getting married is not a business partnership. When you get married, you are joined as one. Once you're married, his debts are your debts, his income is yours, and yours are his. Things go from mine and his to ours.

If you do it together, you'll have much more success than if you try to keep everything separate. My husband kept things separate when we first got married, but only after we combined everything did the money start to work.

I wish you the best...

Answer 7

Hi there. As some others have stated your best bet is to keep finances seperate. The only way your credit can be affected is if you go into a loan with him (such as a joint car lease/purchase) and he doesn't pay on time or you don't pay in time.

Answer 8

Actually, someone has been feeding you misinformation.

Your credit file remains completely indpendant of his. The only way any of his accounts would show up n your report, or vice versa, is if you either apply/open accounts jointly, or if he adds you as an"authorized user" on his account. It ONLY applies to thsoe accounts which you do this, not his overall credit report. DO NOT have any of his credit cards issue you a card in your name. This DOES report to your report and it DOES effect your score.

Keep your accounts in good standing and keep all his in good standing and only apply for accounts together if you KNOW you can maintain those accounts.

Also if you have some older credit cards with low balances and an excellent history, you can add HIM as an authorized user, and most cards report this to his file, so he gets instantly good history reported, which could help him up his score.

Answer 9

I'm in the same boat first thing don't cahnge your name to his and continue to keep finances separate. Only apply for loans etc in your name. For household or shared expenses have 1 shared acct. Dont know if this will help but it may confuse the creditors for awhile

Answer 10

I would suggest maintaining your own separate personal finance after marriage. Setup a joined finance if needed to take care of common budgeting etc.