03/11/2023
Rebuilding your life in recovery can often lead to challenges around your finances, especially when it comes to your credit score. This article will walk you through the ins and outs of how credit scores are impacted by gambling, without any financial jargon.
Does Gambling Affect Your Credit Score?
Now, let's get to the question at hand: Does gambling affect your credit score directly? The straightforward answer is no. Gambling does not impact your credit score.
While gambling itself doesn't directly influence your credit rating, the associated financial behaviours that can lead to debts can potentially affect it. These might include:
- Cash Advances
- Casino Credit Facilities
- Payday Loans
- Missed Payments
- Cash Withdrawals
Signs That Gambling is Affecting Your Finances
There are several ways in which gambling can lead to financial strain, including betting more and more, chasing the "next big win", and falling into a cycle of debt and loss chasing. To avoid financial difficulty, it's essential to be aware of the warning signs of gambling related financial harm, such as increased borrowing and neglecting bills.
Your day-to-day necessities, such as food and household bills, should always take precedence over gambling. If you're starting to worry about how gambling might be influencing your credit score, keep in mind that missing payments and accumulating debt will have consequences. For those thinking about major financial commitments like a mortgage, it's worth considering that lenders look closely at your financial history and stability.
How to Protect Your Credit Rating
Managing your credit rating and finances is an important part of your financial well-being. Here are some tips to help you maintain good credit score by avoiding negative marks on your credit report:
Pay Your Bills on Time
Be sure to pay all your bills, including credit cards, loans, and utility bills, on time to avoid late fees and negative marks on your credit report.
Maintain Low Credit Card Balances
Keep your credit card balances low compared to your credit limit. A high credit utilisation ratio can negatively impact your credit score.
Regularly Check Your Credit Reports
You are entitled to a free credit report annually from each of the major credit bureaus.
Limit New Credit
Avoid applying for multiple credit cards or loans within a short period. Each application results in a hard inquiry, which can temporarily lower your credit score.
Consider Length of Credit History
Try to keep your oldest credit accounts open to maintain a longer credit history, as it can positively affect your credit score.
Talk with Creditors
If you are having difficulty paying your bills, try talking with your creditors for a lower interest rate or a more manageable payment plan.
Avoid Closing Old Accounts
Closing old or unused credit accounts can negatively impact your credit score. Consider keeping them open but with minimal or zero balance.
Use Financial Tools
To help you build a good credit score, we want to introduce you to a helpful tool called Loqbox.
In the UK, Loqbox has both free and paid membership options, offering four credit building tools.
- Loqbox Save works the same way as its Lite counterpart, except there are no fees when unlocking your savings into an existing bank account. Over 12 months you make monthly payments that are reported to the credit agencies, and at the end, you unlock your savings.
- Loqbox Spend is an interest-free credit account, part of the paid membership at an affordable £2.50 per week subscription. It grants you access to all the available resources whilst boosting your score.
- Loqbox Rent makes your monthly housing payments work towards your credit score goals by reporting your rent payments to Experian, helping you to improve your credit history over time.
- Loqbox Coach provides easy to follow steps to improve your financial health and helps to plan your next steps with a personalised financial plan especially tailored to you.
Coming to terms with how gambling is affecting your finances can be tough. If you think something like Loqbox might help, and you’re interested in learning more about your financial health and how to take steps to actively improve it, visit their website.
Gambling can impact our relationship with money in many ways. But in recovery, getting the right habits in place will mean you can look after it and build for the future.
Affiliate Link Disclosure: We believe in transparency on the web, so we’re disclosing that this post contains affiliate links to products or services. In this case, this means that, at no additional cost to you, we will get a referral fee from Loqbox if you decide to sign up. We only recommend products or services that we believe will add value to our users.
