A good credit score is essential for getting approval on loans and credit cards with decent terms and interest rates. However, mistakes on your credit report or bad financial decisions in the past can negatively impact your credit, making it difficult to qualify for new credit products. Applying for something like a mortgage or an auto loan is difficult if you have bad credit. With poor credit, you won’t qualify for low interest rates and you end up having to pay back more than you otherwise would, making it more difficult to keep up with payments. This situation is especially frustrating if you’ve worked on Improving your Credit Score, but feel like your score doesn’t reflect that you’ve made major changes to your spending habits.