Monmouth County's Ask The Doctor Magazine Nov/Dec 2020

Financial Health Includes Your Credit Score By, Lauren Kowlacki Credit scores are an important part of your financial health. Good credit can unlock many savings and benefits, including access to loans and credit cards with the most favorable terms. A high score of over 800 gives you access to the lowest interest rates on the market, which saves you money.

F I N A N C I A L H E A LT H

Some employers are even beginning to run credit checks to see if you can be trusted with company finances or assets. If you have a history of not being financially responsible, you may run into problems finding work. Without a good cred- it score and history, the experts say, it's more difficult to qualify for a mortgage or car loan – and more expensive, too, because you won't get the best interest rates. In many states, bad credit can even raise your insurance premiums, cost you a rental apartment, or make it harder to get hired. Do you have an excellent credit score? A good credit score is used for more than just getting a credit card or a loan. Credit scores demonstrate your history of paying your debts to entities that loan you money. You can check out your credit score at annual credit re- port.com to get a free report.

New Jersey’s other drug problem (proper medication disposal) tackled by Assembly Committee One-in-three Americans have expired or unused medication sitting in their bathroom cabinets, which too often end up into the wrong hands, infiltrate landfills or water supplies. A bill (S3240) requiring pharmacists to educate their patients on how to safely discard unused, unwanted or expired drugs and needles passed the state Assembly Health Committee recently. The bill is sponsored by Assemblymen Sean Kean and Edward Thomson. “Sometimes the most dangerous drugs are hiding in our medicine cabinets,” said Kean (R-Monmouth). “This is an eye-opener that unfortunately isn’t being recognized like it should. It is too unsafe to let them fall into the wrong hands or end up in our environment.” Under the proposal, pharmacists must provide instructions that also warn patients of the potential risks if the medica- tion is not discarded safely. They must also make available a deactivation product that can neutralize 98 percent of drugs. The bill was named after Charlie Van Tassel, who died at 33 years old after battling addiction for many years. “There is a lot more we all have to do to help people like Charlie who fight to stay sober,” said Thomson (R-Monmouth). “Pharmacists can provide valuable education so that their patients don’t become part of or contribute to unsettling statis- tics.” More than 70 percent of people abusing opioids for nonmedical reasons get them from family or friends, according to surveys conducted for the government's National Household Survey on Drug Use and Health. Fifty-five percent obtained the drugs for free, another 11 percent bought them, and 5 percent got them without asking.

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