An avid reader, documentary connoisseur, movie aficionado, and history buff, I have an avid appreciation for the past. Moreover, what it has taught us. As with most, it stems from “simpler” times. Were they that simple? Well, take away disease, famine, and some serious issues with society, like we don’t have plenty today, then they were simpler. Simpler by way of living without a credit score.

You farmed or hunted for food. Settled near a water supply for nature’s necessity. Crafted and created items for trade. Ahh, the simple life. Was it that simple? Long, strenuous hours of labor to put food on the table. Heaving water from its source. Gathering the necessities to create clothing, household items, and necessities. There within lies a stressor. The stressors of survival.

Let us move ahead a few hundred years, and we are now in a time that most families must have both heads of household work to have common luxuries. That being in food, water, shelter, vehicle, internet, mobile device, fuel, etc. These are items most Americans take for granted but are “basic” necessities by today’s standards. These items are needed for everyday life in the United States of America, and most of the world. You would be surprised how many countries go without all but food, water, and shelter. Here in my neighborhood, one household can have anywhere from three to six cars that belong to it. Depending on number of children and their ages.

Here is something to consider, of highly populated countries, the United States is ranked as the nation with more cars per 1,000 people than any other country. The other highly populated countries are at the bottom of the list. Why? They commute and live within their means. They have more public transportation infrastructure and fuel is not as cheap as it is in the United States. Plus, we have a fascination with driving all over the place! What else are we number one in? Financing these wheeled wonders!

  Go back just fifty years ago. That is not a long time considering how far we have evolved with technology in the last twenty years. Either way, up until the late 1970’s, most American families were one income families. That income could provide the necessities. That is all you needed. You might not have gotten rich, but you could save a little and you could be a functioning member of society. Average house size in 1960 was less than 1200 square foot. Families lived in these homes. Now we are well above double that amount as an average house size. You could go into a bank and shake hands with someone to borrow money. They judged you, not a piece of paper or a digital rating. As money gets cheaper, inflation and purchases skyrocket. Thanks, Federal Reserve!

Let us fast forward to today in the United States. Majority of the country is living on credit and well above their means. Why not? The government does. Have you looked at the national deficit? Hell, they make their own credit rating. Wish I could. Most of Americans live and die by what they have rather than who they are. Our identity that determines if we can be a part of the material merry-go-around is all based on a three-digit number. One that determines how much you pay to borrow money, the lower it is, the more you are susceptible to predatory lending and high interest rates. This magic number can also keep you from getting a job and even lose your career. Yes. Facts.

Not too long ago, I was offered a position with a well-known company. I was sent the formal offer contingent on a background check. Background? I have nothing to worry about. I was stoked. Until I got an email stating they were rescinding their offer based on my consumer credit profile. A score that had taken a dump in 2020 due to pandemic related career issues. It was either bankruptcy or face the music and deal with. Bankruptcy used to be an easy way out, just ask Donald Trump. Rack up debt, file a chapter 7,11, or 13 and do it again. And again. Anyhow, bankruptcy laws are stricter than in the last decade. This leaves someone like me with less than 100K worth of debt just having to face the bad credit score. This unethical way of measuring a person can:

• Not allow you to open a checking account
• Raise your car insurance premiums
• Pay deposits on utilities if deemed too low
• Pay higher interest on loans such as vehicles, mortgages, unsecured loans
• Not be able to get an unsecured credit card
• Lose your job or not be hirable

For the record, anything financial, such as trying to live a “normal” life in the United States, is determined by this score. A score that tells no story behind why or how? Of course, “credit bandits” ruined it for a large group of individuals who really went through a struggle and had to let things go, default on financial obligations, and start over. Is it starting over? Yes and no. You can’t erase everything, but you can repair it. There is a multi-billion-dollar industry that revolves around this. Repairing credit.

So many ways, methods, and “quick fixes” for credit repair. Bypass most of these and find a reputable credit repair company locally backed by an attorney. Some of this you can do yourself, but who has the time. We are all so busy trying to pay the freaking bills, put food on the table, and make sure we have the latest and greatest of everything. Again, back to where I started this, a stressor. Our stressor now is living a life that the media and fictional society all around, tells us we should live. I am guilty. Chased and had that façade. When I lost it, I was broken as a man. I was supposed to live up to this storybook life that Hollywood, social media, and Better Homes and Garden made me feel was the only trophy of success. That is until I realized life is more than what you have materially.

Life is about enjoying this time we have with one another. Yes, we must eat, sleep, consume water, and be clothed (I am chuckling). There is more to this world than fancy homes, clothes, vehicles, and electronics. There is culture, diversity, and love to have. Places to see. You focus on letting that light shine and sharing it with others. Pushing out the darkness that surrounds this world is more valuable than a tech CEO’s bank account. I don’t want to be that CEO. Life is more complicated when you have an obscene over-abundance of what people desire the most. Trust me on this, I lost friends when my credit score dropped. Talk about transactional friendships!

Life Indiscreet is about just that, being indiscreet about the truth. As much as it does not sit well with some, it is, a truth.

Those who base their faith and ideology around a book that tells them how to live are the same who “covet” what their neighbor has. Hence, furthering that longing for “stuff”. Very few live up to those words in that book, majority pervert them. After all, it is just a book. A literary work. You see them raising money with their ministries “to spread the Word of God!”. I am 100% that God does not care about money or better yet, a credit score.

dk