It looks like you may have reached a turning point in the road. Whether it’s for an auto loan, a personal loan, or department store credit, you may not be able to qualify by your own merits. This is when the cosigner comes into play. The best place to look for a consigner is within the family, or either among friends. You’ll want to trust them just as much as they will want to trust you.

If this individual is backing your bad credit loan, they will be privy to the same credit checks as you would be if this were your poor credit loan all by itself. Their creditworthiness is based on income, homeownership, credit history, and job security. If you default on any payments, the consigner will have to pick up the tag. That’s why it’s good to make sure that you have all of your ducks lined up in a row before you put the consigner’s financial credit rating on the line.

Say what you mean and mean what you say!

To the cosigner, you are saying that you plan to honor the credit contract to the letter they have consigned for. Don’t try to take on too much new credit at first. Take the time to really look at your spending habits. If you have had trouble in the recent past keeping up with your finances, this may not be the best time to put someone else in the cross hairs.

Read more: Top Ways to Get A Bad Credit Loan