Would you consider yourself as financially responsible? You pay cash for everything. You only buy what you can afford. And you’re saving faithfully for retirement. If you’re doing all of these things, there’s simply no need for a good credit score, right? You never plan on taking out a loan, so why do you need credit?

What many people fail to understand is that your credit score can affect more than just financing. Even if you plan on paying cash for everything, here are a few reasons why it’s important to have good credit:

1. New Job: A lot of employers have started requiring credit checks before you’re officially hired. Checking your credit score will help employers understand your character better in an unbiased assessment. An employer can determine how responsible and disciplined you are based on your financial history. A credit score could be the difference between getting your dream job or not.

2. Insurance Rates: Insurance companies often reward responsible consumers with lower rates. A responsible consumer will likely cost insurance companies less money in the long run. Therefore, insurance companies will check credit scores to see what kind of character you are. If you’re reckless with your finances, you run a higher chance of being reckless in life (car accident, homeowner’s claim, etc.)

3. Living Circumstances: We all know that when you take out a mortgage, your credit score affects the amount and interest rate of your loan. However, did you know that property managers look at your credit score as well? If you have a good credit score, it shows the property manager that you’re responsible with your money, which means that you’ll likely pay your rent on time each month. A property manager knows that it’s a better investment to rent to someone with a good credit score as opposed to someone with a poor credit score.

There are usually two types of people in this world: those who pay for everything with cash and strive to be or stay out of debt, and those who use their credit cards or loans to pay for what they want now and push to get ahead in life. But what if there was a third option? What if you could have no debt and still have good credit?

Being financially responsible means that you know how much you can afford to spend. You can buy things on your credit card and pay it off each month. You can build good credit and ensure good job prospects, insurance rates, and living circumstances, while living within your means.

If you’d like to learn how to budget and become more financially responsible, check out RentPlusMoney. RentPlusMoney is a tool that truly makes managing your finances easy, fun, and effective