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We are an independent, advertising-supported comparison service. Our goal is to help you make smarter financial decisions by providing you with interactive tools and financial calculators, publishing original and objective content, by enabling you to conduct research and compare information for free - so that you can make financial decisions with confidence.
Bankrate has partnerships with issuers including, but not limited to, American Express, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase, Citi and Discover.

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The offers that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site, including, for example, the order in which they may appear within the listing categories. But this compensation does not influence the information we publish, or the reviews that you see on this site. We do not include the universe of companies or financial offers that may be available to you. SHARE: May 15, 2017 Bankrate logo

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At Bankrate we strive to help you make smarter financial decisions. While we adhere to strict editorial integrity, this post may contain references to products from our partners. Here's an explanation for how we make money. Bankrate logo

The Bankrate promise

Founded in 1976, Bankrate has a long track record of helping people make smart financial choices. We’ve maintained this reputation for over four decades by demystifying the financial decision-making process and giving people confidence in which actions to take next. Bankrate follows a strict , so you can trust that we’re putting your interests first. All of our content is authored by and edited by , who ensure everything we publish is objective, accurate and trustworthy. Our banking reporters and editors focus on the points consumers care about most — the best banks, latest rates, different types of accounts, money-saving tips and more — so you can feel confident as you’re managing your money. Bankrate logo

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Bankrate follows a strict , so you can trust that we’re putting your interests first. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions.

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We value your trust. Our mission is to provide readers with accurate and unbiased information, and we have editorial standards in place to ensure that happens. Our editors and reporters thoroughly fact-check editorial content to ensure the information you’re reading is accurate. We maintain a firewall between our advertisers and our editorial team. Our editorial team does not receive direct compensation from our advertisers.

Editorial Independence

Bankrate’s editorial team writes on behalf of YOU – the reader. Our goal is to give you the best advice to help you make smart personal finance decisions. We follow strict guidelines to ensure that our editorial content is not influenced by advertisers. Our editorial team receives no direct compensation from advertisers, and our content is thoroughly fact-checked to ensure accuracy. So, whether you’re reading an article or a review, you can trust that you’re getting credible and dependable information. Bankrate logo

How we make money

You have money questions. Bankrate has answers. Our experts have been helping you master your money for over four decades. We continually strive to provide consumers with the expert advice and tools needed to succeed throughout life’s financial journey. Bankrate follows a strict , so you can trust that our content is honest and accurate. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions. The content created by our editorial staff is objective, factual, and not influenced by our advertisers. We’re transparent about how we are able to bring quality content, competitive rates, and useful tools to you by explaining how we make money. Bankrate.com is an independent, advertising-supported publisher and comparison service. We are compensated in exchange for placement of sponsored products and, services, or by you clicking on certain links posted on our site. Therefore, this compensation may impact how, where and in what order products appear within listing categories. Other factors, such as our own proprietary website rules and whether a product is offered in your area or at your self-selected credit score range can also impact how and where products appear on this site. While we strive to provide a wide range offers, Bankrate does not include information about every financial or credit product or service. If you were dating, would you swipe left if the other person had a lower credit score? Many people might. “I consider finances and how someone manages them to be a pivotal topic when choosing a partner,” says Asia Martin-Ingram, a 25-year-old working in digital advertising in New York. More than 4 in 10 Americans indicate that knowing someone’s credit score could banish a date to the friend zone, a Bankrate survey finds. But the responses also suggest a credit score should not be the sort of upfront information that leads to an instant Tinder-style swipe. So if your credit is less than ideal, don’t despair. Not sure about your credit score? It’s very easy to .

The right timing

According to the survey, half of women and 35 percent of men say a credit score could have an impact on whether they’d find a date appealing.

But only 6 percent of respondents say it’s something that should be shared within the first few dates. Most (74 percent) say it’s OK for a couple not to know each other’s credit scores until after several months of dating or even after they’re engaged. “I would date someone with a ,” says Pamela Sisson, 39, a graphic designer in New York. It’s only if things started to get more serious that bad credit could be a red flag. “Bad credit could point to deeper issues of irresponsibility,” she says. “They may be unstable in other areas of their life.” Bad credit could point to deeper issues of irresponsibility. They may be unstable in other areas of their life. Experts agree it’s not necessary to know too much too soon. “If I were going out on a first date, I wouldn’t ask for a credit score!” says psychologist Maggie Baker, a financial therapist and the author of “Crazy About Money.”

Having the conversation

But Baker adds that it’s vital to discuss finances before things go too far. You should certainly know your partner’s financial health before applying for a or taking out a mortgage together. “Money is the No. 1 stressor in most people’s lives. Being honest and transparent about money is important,” she says. Here’s why having that money talk is so important: More than three-quarters (77 percent) of survey respondents who are married or partnered told us they share at least one bank account.

Melissa Terrio, 43, a director of college admissions in Worcester, Massachusetts, who is currently in a relationship, says she wouldn’t commingle funds with someone without knowing their financial history. “Being financially wise is a good indicator of the life choices they make,” says Terrio. “If somehow your money is going to intertwine, it’s important to know where they stand.” Ariel Herlich, 29, a Brooklyn-based market researcher who has been married two years, says she didn’t know anything about her husband’s credit score until they merged finances. “It wasn’t an issue. But I knew he didn’t have any serious debt, and he didn’t strike me as financially flaky.”

If your score is low

If you’re the partner with bad credit, here’s one consolation: Experts say you shouldn’t be written off based on your score alone. “They could have a good reason for a low score or debt like medical bills or a divorce,” says Beverly Harzog, a credit expert and debt coach. She says it’s important to make the distinction between someone who has a valid reason for their mediocre credit and someone who is irresponsible with their money. Be the first to raise the issue of your bad credit with your partner so you explain your circumstances in a non-confrontational setting. But make sure to before you have that discussion. This means tackling the two biggest things that can crush your credit score: . These factors alone make up 65 percent of your FICO score. Get yourself organized by marking on your calendar the due dates for all your bills, and then make sure to pay them on time. And if you’ve accumulated credit card debt across numerous cards, consider consolidating that debt with a . A no-interest card offer could be just the incentive you need to rid yourself of high balances that may contribute to your low score. Methodology: Bankrate’s Money Pulse survey was conducted April 20-23, 2017, by Princeton Survey Research Associates International with a nationally representative sample of 1,000 adults living in the continental U.S. Telephone interviews were conducted in English and Spanish by landline (500) and cellphone (500, including 322 without a landline phone). Statistical results are weighted to correct known demographic discrepancies. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3.8 percentage points for the complete set of data. SHARE:

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