How Marriage Affects Your Credit

Planning for a wedding can be so overwhelming that many brides and grooms never stop to consider how marriage may affect their credit. Once the honeymoon high wears off, however, the new couple should sit down and begin planning for their joint financial goals, including building and maintaining good credit.

Why a Spouse's Credit Score Won't Affect Your Score

A marriage is more than a union of two people; it's also the beginning of shared bank accounts, mortgages, car loans, and even bathroom counter space. One thing you won't have to worry about sharing, however, are your credit scores. Just like an individual's Social Security card and birth certificate, a credit score stays separate and distinct even after marriage. 

One common misconception is that the combination of one spouse's low credit score and the other's high credit score will result in an average score for the couple. Married or not, each person maintains a separate and distinct credit profile. Neither partner's score impacts the other's, even if one person changes a last name to match a spouse’s. 

How Credit Scores Can Affect Marriages

Although one person’s credit score won’t have any effect on another person’s credit score, that doesn’t mean that the scores never affect the marriage itself.

If a married couple wants to take out a loan together, like a joint mortgage or car loan, both credit scores will be considered. If one person has a lower credit score, then it might be harder for the couple to obtain the loan. One possible solution might be for the person with the better credit score to apply for the loan on their own, but this might not always work if their income is insufficient to finance the loan independently.

How to Help Your Spouse's Credit Score

If one person’s credit score is negatively affecting the marriage, there are many common ways to raise the score. For instance, one common option is to seek help from a credit repair company.

Once you decide that you want to work with a credit repair company, you'll quickly notice that there are several credit repair companies out there, and it can be difficult to know which one will work best for you. Luckily, you can read the reviews on websites like bestcompany.com to see real customer feedback that can help you determine which one best fits your needs.