Do Good Credit Scores Give ‘Warm Fuzzies’?

While credit scores are used for financial lending decision, the study looked more at the emotional impact of a credit score by asking U.S. adults to assess their views of their credit scores to understand how credit scores play a role in feelings of financial security. It also shows generational differences in how people perceive credit scores. Global analytics software firm FICO released the study.

According to the survey, 85% of Americans feel more secure in the rest of their lives when their credit score is healthy. At a time when one-third of Americans report that they feel financially insecure, and 43% say that the unstable economy is a barrier to achieving financial goals, the survey results suggest that learning about the right steps to manage credit can help people feel more in control of their finances and well-being during uncertain times.

Credit education by generation

A large majority (90%) of Americans say they at least somewhat understand what a credit score is. But not that many know how to maintain or improve their credit, and only 37% check their scores monthly.

This knowledge gap is more prevalent amongst Gen Z. One in five say they only understand credit scores a little or not at all, and 29% said they either do not have a credit score or do not know if they have one compared to 8% of boomers.

On the other hand, boomers feel more secure in their finances and are the most likely (96%) to say they completely or somewhat understand credit scores, followed by the Silent Generation (94%), millennials (92%) and Gen X (91%).