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Why does a good credit score matter if you're not planning to borrow any money? Many of us think that, as long as we already have a house and we pay for our cars in cash, a good credit score doesn't matter that much.  Unfortunately, that's just not the way the system works anymore. Your credit report is a convenient compilation of your financial habits and history, and it is easy to use the information in your credit report - or even to use your credit score - as an indication of what sort of risk you might pose in a number of financial situations.

Anymore, an increasing number of people are making judgments about you based on the information found in your credit report.  You may rankle at the injustice, but it's still there. Here are some of the ways that having a bad credit score can hurt you - even if you don't want to borrow anything:

Opening a Bank Account

Believe it or not, there are actually some financial institutions that will run a credit check on you before allowing you to open a deposit account.  Before you can open a savings account or a checking account, you might have to submit to a credit check.  Banks want to know, especially in the case of savings accounts, that you are likely to park a big chunk of money there - and leave it for a while.  Plus, even though overdraft fees are a big moneymaker for banks, they don't want someone who habitually goes in the red, and your credit report could provide a clue.

Insurance Premiums

Many insurance companies check your credit score when deciding on your insurance premiums.  My insurance company regularly sends me a letter telling me that my credit score has resulted in a discount on my car insurance premium.
Over time, a good credit score can mean hundreds of dollars saved in car insurance premiums.  If you don't pay attention to having good credit, then there is a good chance that it will cost you.

Rentals

What landlord wants to have to worry about whether or not you are going to make your monthly payments on time?  As a result, some landlords will check your credit before approving your application.  In some cases, you might have to live in a less desirable rental if you don't have good credit. (Of course, if you already have a home, this doesn't matter as much.)

Certain Jobs

My brother in law was subjected to a credit check when he applied to be a security guard. He was rejected because some companies have concerns that someone with poor credit might be vulnerable to bribes.  Certain employers might want to take a look at your credit report before hiring you.  If it looks as though your habits might not have been the most responsible, you might be passed over.

Building Your Credit

It's frustrating for people who are trying to be financially responsible and avoid debt of any kind to find out they don't have a good credit score since they have no credit history.  The good news is you don't have to go into major debt to build your credit score.

One option is to start using a credit card, and pay off your balance monthly.  If you only charge what you have money to pay for it can help you improve your credit score while at the same time keeping you debt free.

Another option is to use secured loans to build up your score. Banks may not be willing to give you a regular loan if you don't have a credit history.  What you can do is deposit $1,000 into a 12-month CD, then use the CD as collateral for a secured loan.

November was another very strong month for U.S. stock markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 3.82 percent, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indices experienced returns of 3.05 percent and 3.58 percent, respectively. Gains were broad based, with growth slightly outperforming value and small stocks outperforming large ones. The only domestic equity asset class showing an actual decline was real estate investment trusts (REITs), which underperformed largely due to its exposure to interest rates. Technical factors remained supportive. As markets rose, resistance levels turned into support levels. With all indices well above their 50- and 200-day moving averages, there were no technical red flags.

Fundamentals also showed no major change in trend, with earnings beating expectations overall for the quarter. Valuation levels, though continued to move higher from already extended levels, suggesting that current market prices may be subject to risk.

International market returns were more muted. The MSCI EAFE Index gained 0.77 percent for the month, while the MSCI Emerging Markets Index actually posted a 1.56-percent loss. Europe's economy continued to show slow improvement but did not excite investors, and emerging markets continued to wrestle with the potential for Federal Reserve (Fed) tapering.

Interest rates rose during the month, with the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond increasing from 2.57 percent to 2.75 percent. The rise in rates drove the previously mentioned decline in the MSCI U.S. REIT Index and also sent the Barclays Capital Aggregate Bond Index down 0.37 percent. Investors sought risk within fixed income markets but avoided duration. Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities were losers over the month. Meanwhile, high-yield and bank loans posted modestly positive returns. November's numbers were broadly reflective of the year-to-date trend of spread-oriented securities outperforming duration-sensitive bonds.

Continuing positive economic news drove the rise in rates and strong U.S. equity market performance. At the start of the month, gross domestic product was reported to have grown 2.8 percent in the third quarter, much higher than the expected 2-percent increase. This surprise was reinforced by improvements in initial unemployment claims, which declined from 336,000 to 316,000 during November.

The outlook for manufacturing businesses also improved. The ISM Manufacturing survey reached a two-and-one-half-year high at the start of November, due to increased business activity, including hiring. Private payrolls increased 212,000, up from 150,000 in October, implying that business confidence had not been damaged by the government shutdown. The jobs situation was also bolstered by higher pay, as the wage growth rate ticked up to 2.2 percent on an annual basis, and personal income increased a substantial 0.5 percent relative to the previous month.

Higher incomes also supported better retail sales, which increased 0.4 percent in October, a strong gain. Because consumption makes up about 70 percent of the economy, consumer spending has a tendency to heavily impact overall economic growth. The current level of spending should be sustainable, given that the growth in sales was actually less than the increase in personal income, and the savings rate rose.

As expected, Janet Yellen was nominated to succeed Ben Bernanke as the Fed's chairperson. Financial markets interpreted this as a positive development because Yellen is widely perceived as a "dove" who will likely continue the Fed's existing supportive policies. The reduction in uncertainty as a result of her nomination was also a positive factor, and investors were likely impressed by her strong performance in her confirmation hearing.

Despite the increase in rates during November, it seems likely that rates will remain lower than they would have been had Yellen not been nominated. The possibility of a reduction in the Fed's bond purchasing remains a possibility for December, but it is probably less likely than it was before. Investors appear to expect any taper to be smaller and slower under Yellen than it would have been had she not been appointed.

Europe and China both displayed economic progress during November. European growth was led by strong improvements in the United Kingdom and Germany, but even peripheral markets showed improvement. Ireland and Spain were set to exit their financial support programs, and Greece showed signs of a primary surplus, which caused Moody's to raise the country's credit rating two steps. An outlier was France, which continued to struggle. But the widespread improvements in other eurozone areas suggested that a slow recovery was taking hold.

In China, the big news was the completion of the Third Plenum, in which China's leaders outlined their plans for the years leading up to 2020. Initial media reports implied that the results of the meeting were disappointing. In reality, however, a number of market-friendly reforms were discussed, including deregulation of areas of the economy currently dominated by state-owned enterprises, financial liberalization via the abolition of certificate of deposit rate ceilings, and plans to give equal rights to foreign and domestic equity investors. If these plans are implemented, they should be a boost to longer-term economic performance by prioritizing consumption over investment and increasing the private share of the economy. China's growth statistics, as if on cue, also signaled a rebound.

The strong performance of U.S. equity markets in November is encouraging, but worries remain. The first is the relatively high level of stock valuations, based largely on expected continued Fed support. Although ongoing support is probable, the better economic data suggests that it may be more limited than markets expect.

Another concern is the durability of recovery in the rest of the world. The weaker stock market performance abroad suggests that investors around the globe are less optimistic than they are here. A substantial part of our current market performance is based on continued recovery in Europe and growth in China. Both appear likely, but risks remain.

Cautious optimism remains the appropriate stance. 2013 has been a very strong year for the market, and a pullback at some point is inevitable-even healthy. It is important that investors maintain a disciplined program and treat the good times as calmly as they treat the bad ones.